Flushing, NY (October 29, 2013) – Kennedy Richards, a local custodian, has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the 32BJ Service Employees International Union (SEIU) after union officials illegally forced him to contribute to a union strike fund and union political activities. Richards is receiving free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

In New York and other states without Right to Work laws, nonunion employees can be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment. However, nonunion workers cannot be required to pay dues for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as union politics and the provision of members-only benefits.

Union officials are obligated to provide independently-audited financial disclosures to nonunion employees to help them determine what dues they have to contribute. According to financial disclosure forms Richards received from 32BJ SEIU, he was being charged for contributions to a union strike fund – a fund nonmembers are ineligible to draw money from – and for union political activity.

Richards is also challenging an SEIU policy that requires nonunion employees to annually renew their objections to paying union dues unrelated to workplace bargaining.

The charges will now be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency responsible for administering private sector labor law.

“Instead of respecting the rights of nonunion employees, SEIU bosses forced Kennedy Richards to subsidize their political agenda and a union strike fund he can’t even receive payments from,” said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “They also require nonunion employees to go through an onerous opt-out procedure every year if they want to continue to pay less than full union dues.”

“We hope these charges will allow Richards to reclaim some of his hard-earned money, but the only way to ensure that nonunion workers aren’t forced to pay union dues is a New York Right to Work law, which would make union membership and dues payments strictly voluntary.”

Utility Employee Seeks to Shut Off Forced Dues Scheme

Union bosses illegally demand worker join union or “be escorted off the property”

Newark, NJ (October 28, 2013) – A Public Service Electric and Gas company worker has filed federal charges against a local union and his employer for violating his rights.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, Gregory Lehman of Woodbridge, New Jersey, filed the unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Lehman, who must accept Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153 officials’ representation as a condition of his employment, alleges that union officials and company management demanded he join the union and pay full union dues or be fired and “escorted off the property.”

Click here to read the full release.

Thomas Built Buses Worker Files Federal Charge Against Company for Turning Blind Eye to Union Harassment

Company management demands she join the union to get fair treatment

High Point, NC (October 28, 2013) – A local Thomas Built Buses worker has filed a federal charge against the company for turning a blind eye to harassment she has received for exercising her right to refrain and inform her coworkers of their right to refrain from union membership.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Tracy McLaughlin filed the unfair labor practice charge yesterday with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

United Auto Worker (UAW) Local 5287 union officials obtained monopoly bargaining powers over the workplace in 2006 after union and company officials cut a deal to force union “representation” on the workers.

In her charge, McLaughlin states that union officials have harassed her because she has exercised her right under North Carolina’s popular Right to Work law to refrain from membership in the UAW Local 5287 union.

Click here to read the full release.

Newark, NJ (October 28, 2013) – A Public Service Electric and Gas company worker has filed federal charges against a local union and his employer for violating his rights.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, Gregory Lehman of Woodbridge, New Jersey, filed the unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Lehman, who must accept Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153 officials’ representation as a condition of his employment, alleges that union officials and company management demanded he join the union and pay full union dues or be fired and “escorted off the property.”

Under federal law, no worker can be forced to formally join a union. However, because New Jersey is not a Right to Work state, workers can be forced to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment.

Lehman alleges that OPEIU Local 153 union officials and company management never informed Lehman of his right to refrain from full-dues-paying union membership as upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Right to Work Foundation-won Communications Workers v. Beck case. Under Beck, nonmember workers cannot be legally compelled to pay union dues used for union politics and member-only activities.

In his charge, Lehman seeks reimbursement of all union dues and fees illegally seized from his paychecks.

“OPEIU union bosses’ and Public Service Electric and Gas management’s illegal demands that this worker must join the union or be fired is just another example of how New Jersey desperately needs a Right to Work law making union membership and dues-payments completely voluntary,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “No worker should ever be forced to join or financially support a union as a condition of their employment.”

Twenty-four states have Right to Work protections for employees. Public polling shows that nearly 80 percent of Americans and union members support the Right to Work principle of voluntary unionism.

High Point, NC (October 28, 2013) – A local Thomas Built Buses worker has filed a federal charge against the company for turning a blind eye to harassment she has received for exercising her right to refrain and inform her coworkers of their right to refrain from union membership.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Tracy McLaughlin filed the unfair labor practice charge yesterday with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

United Auto Worker (UAW) Local 5287 union officials obtained monopoly bargaining powers over the workplace in 2006 after union and company officials cut a deal to force union “representation” on the workers.

In her charge, McLaughlin states that union officials have harassed her because she has exercised her right under North Carolina’s popular Right to Work law to refrain from membership in the UAW Local 5287 union. McLaughlin states that she has also been harassed because she informs her coworkers of their right to refrain from union membership and dues payments.

In her charge, McLaughlin recounts that in June 2013, Thomas Built management refused to address her claim that a union official falsely accused her of harassment in attempt to get her disciplined. Instead of providing her information on how to file internal company disciplinary charges, Thomas Built management instead suggested she get counseling.

McLaughlin also recounts in her charge a September 2013, incident in which a union official falsely accused her of calling a union member a “terrorist” in an attempt to get her disciplined for her efforts in informing her coworkers of their rights under the state’s Right to Work law.

After company management threatened to fire McLaughlin, she brought witnesses to substantiate her account of the incident. Company management ignored her account and the witnesses. When she asked why union members get to resolve their problems by presenting witnesses in a timely manner, company management told her that if she wanted representation, she would have to join the union.

“No worker should be forced to join a union in order to receive fair treatment in the workplace,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Thomas Built management needs to stop discriminating against workers based on their union membership status.”

Special Needs Teaching Assistant Files Charge against Union for Ignoring Her Rights Under Michigan’s Right to Work Law

Teacher union officials stonewall worker’s attempt to resign from union membership and dues payments

Pinckney, MI (October 23, 2013) – A local special needs classroom assistant has filed a state charge against a local teacher union for violating her rights under Michigan’s recently enacted public-sector Right to Work law.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Linda Evon of Pinckney filed the state charge late last week with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) in Detroit.

Evon, who works as a special needs classroom assistant for Pinckney Community Schools, informed the Michigan Education Association (MEA) union on September 4, 2013, that she was exercising her right under Michigan’s Right to Work law to refrain from union dues payments after the union’s monopoly bargaining agreement with her employer expired on June 30, 2013. Under Michigan’s Right to Work law, contracts entered into after the law went into effect must respect workers’ right to refrain from the payment of any union dues.

Click here to read the full release.

Pinckney, MI (October 23, 2013) – A local special needs classroom assistant has filed a state charge against a local teacher union for violating her rights under Michigan’s recently enacted public-sector Right to Work law.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Linda Evon of Pinckney filed the state charge late last week with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) in Detroit.

Evon, who works as a special needs classroom assistant for Pinckney Community Schools, informed the Michigan Education Association (MEA) union on September 4, 2013, that she was exercising her right under Michigan’s Right to Work law to refrain from union dues payments after the union’s monopoly bargaining agreement with her employer expired on June 30, 2013. Under Michigan’s Right to Work law, contracts entered into after the law went into effect must respect workers’ right to refrain from the payment of any union dues.

Instead of complying with Evon’s request, MEA union officials told her that she would have to wait for a union-designated “window period” of August 1 through August 31 before she could resign union membership and refrain from union dues payments.

Evon points out in her charge that Michigan’s Right to Work law protects her unequivocal right to refrain from union membership at any time. Analogously, Supreme Court precedent under federal labor law also protects workers’ absolute right to refrain from union membership at any time without penalty.

“Across the state, union bosses are pulling out all the stops to keep workers from exercising their rights under Michigan’s Right to Work law,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “In a growing number of Foundation cases now, union officials face state or federal charges for denying workers their rights under Michigan’s Right to Work law.”

“Foundation attorneys will continue their efforts to assist workers whose rights are violated by unscrupulous union bosses,” added Mix.

Hospital Workers Win Federal Settlements Booting SEIU Officials from Area Hospital

200 nurses and ancillary employees freed from illegal SEIU forced dues power grab

Thousand Oaks, CA (October 21, 2013) – A group of Thousand Oaks Surgical Hospital (TOSH) nurses and support staff has won three federal settlements forcing two major healthcare unions and the hospital’s parent company to stop illegally forcing them and their coworkers into unwanted union “representation.”

The settlements come after three TOSH nurses and two support staff receiving free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation filed federal charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

In late November 2012, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) Holdings, Inc.-owned Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center purchased TOSH. In late April 2013, Los Robles Hospital management suddenly announced that TOSH workers were “represented” by Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) and SEIU Local 121 RN union officials. Supposedly the workers had been “accreted” into a pre-existing Los Robles-SEIU monopoly bargaining unit.

Click here to read the full release.

Thousand Oaks, CA (October 21, 2013) – A group of Thousand Oaks Surgical Hospital (TOSH) nurses and support staff has won three federal settlements forcing two major healthcare unions and the hospital’s parent company to stop illegally forcing them and their coworkers into unwanted union “representation.”

The settlements come after three TOSH nurses and two support staff receiving free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation filed federal charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

In late November 2012, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) Holdings, Inc.-owned Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center purchased TOSH. In late April 2013, Los Robles Hospital management suddenly announced that TOSH workers were “represented” by Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) and SEIU Local 121 RN union officials. Supposedly the workers had been “accreted” into a pre-existing Los Robles-SEIU monopoly bargaining unit.

The workers were never given the opportunity to vote or otherwise be consulted on the matter. In fact, the vast majority of TOSH nurses and support staff signed petitions opposing the SEIU officials’ forced “representation.” Moreover, because California does not have a Right to Work law that makes union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary, SEIU officials began demanding that the TOSH employees pay union dues or fees or be fired from their jobs.

Two of the settlements force the SEIU union officials to renounce monopoly bargaining and forced dues powers over the workers, thus freeing roughly 200 nurses and ancillary workers from forced “representation” and compulsory dues payments. Similarly, Los Robles management must renounce its recognition of the two unions at TOSH, and notify all employees via workplace postings and e-mail that the SEIU unions are not the employees’ representatives.

“Los Robles/HCA management and SEIU officials colluded to shove SEIU union bosses’ ‘representation,’ and forced dues payments, down the throats of TOSH nurses and support staff,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Schemes like this show that the ultimate goal of union officials is more forced dues collected from workers, even when rank-and-file employees want nothing to do with the union.”

Chattanooga VW Workers File Federal Charge Against Company For Pro-Unionization Coercion

Company management in Germany gives workers ultimatum: Join the union or lose workplace opportunities

Chattanooga, TN (October 16, 2013) – Today, four Chattanooga, Tennessee, Volkswagen AG (VOW.DE) workers filed a federal charge against the company alleging that statements by German VW officials are illegally coercing fellow workers into representation by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, the workers filed the charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Atlanta.

The charge comes after senior VW management in Germany stated, according to recent media reports, that for any expanded production to be considered in Chattanooga, the plant must adopt a works council that would force workers to accept the representation of UAW union officials.

Click here to read the full release.