Latest NLRB Watch Online Now
Foundation staff attorney, Ave Maria law professor, and former National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Member John Raudabaugh has published his latest installment to the Foundation’s "NLRB Watch." blog feature.
In "NLRB Watch" #6, Raudabaugh explains how a recent NLRB decision to force a company to continue to bargin with union officials even though 18 of the company’s 21 employees stated they wanted nothing to do with the was overturned in federal court.
Click here to read the rest of this and other posts located at the "NLRB Watch" page. And be sure to follow the National Right to Work Foundation on Facebook and Twitter to get alerts on new "NLRB Watch" posts!
Debunking the Economic Case against Right to Work Laws
As the fight over Michigan’s Right to Work legislation heats up, many pro-forced unionism journalists and media outlets have suggested that a law protecting worker freedom would jeopardize the state’s economic prospects. The case for Right to Work has always rested on the importance of defending worker freedom, but Right to Work laws also have a proven track record of encouraging economic growth. In fact, the National Institute for Labor Relations Research recently put together a blog post debunking a particularly misleading column making the economic case against a Michigan Right to Work law:
Mr. Gallagher’s column left out several obvious and relevant facts. For example, he suggested Right to Work laws somehow lower incomes without acknowledging the basically undisputed fact that on average the cost of living is significantly lower in Right to Work states than in forced-unionism states.
As the National Institute for Labor Relations Research pointed out in a fact sheet published last month, in 2011 the cost of living in states where forced union dues are permitted was nearly 20% higher than in Right to Work states.
Ready-Mix Concrete Worker Wins Settlement from Local Teamster Union
Goshen, IN (December 3, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a former Eagle Ready Mix concrete worker has won a settlement from a local Teamster union for violating his rights.
Edward Chupp of Goshen originally filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) because Teamster Local 364 union officials never informed Eagle Ready Mix workers of their rights, including their right to refrain from full-dues-paying union membership as upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Foundation-won Communications Workers v. Beck case.
In May, Chupp had informed the union that he was exercising his right under Beck to refrain from formal, full-dues-paying union membership.
Although Indiana’s recently-enacted Right to Work law states that no employee can be required to pay union dues as a condition of employment, forced dues contracts between unions and employers entered into prior to the effective date of the law remain in force throughout the state. Therefore, Chupp was forced to pay a part of union dues to keep his job at the time. However, Chupp could not be compelled to pay the part of union dues used for political, lobbying, and member-only activities.
Despite Chupp’s resignation in May, Teamsters Local 364 union officials failed to acknowledge his resignation and continued to confiscate full union dues from his paychecks. Additionally, union officials refused to provide Chupp with the financial disclosure and procedural rights required by federal law to ensure that workers are not illegally paying for union boss political activities and member-only events.
Under the terms of the settlement, Teamster Local 364 union officials agreed to refund Chupp the illegally-taken union dues from his paychecks and post a notice in the workplace informing workers of their rights to refrain from full dues-paying union membership.
“Teamster union officials were caught extracting full union dues from workers who wanted to exercise their rights,” said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Fortunately, Indiana’s new Right to Work law breaks workers free from the shackles of affiliating and paying dues to a union hierarchy like Teamsters Local 364 that otherwise would keep workers in the dark about their rights if they could get away with it.”
Indiana became the nation’s 23rd Right to Work state earlier this year.
Public Defender Wins Settlement from Government Union Officials over Illegal Forced Dues
Albuquerque, NM (December 3, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a public defender from the Alamogordo office of the New Mexico Public Defender Department has won a settlement from a local union for wrongfully charging her with failure to pay union dues for the past five years.
Nancy Fleming initially filed a charge with the New Mexico Public Employee Labor Relations Board against American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) New Mexico Council 18 after union officials tried to confiscate forced union dues payments from her paycheck without notifying her that she was in the union’s monopoly bargaining unit or following federal disclosure requirements.
Fleming was unaware that AFSCME Council 18 union officials claimed to “represent” her and she was never asked if she wanted to be a member or pay union dues or fees to the union. However, Fleming began to receive notices earlier this year from a collection agency stating that the union reported her delinquent in paying union dues or fees dating back to 2006.
In New Mexico, union officials often report workers who do not make dues payments to a collection agency, opening the door for unsuspecting workers to find themselves being harassed for payment of union dues they did not even know existed.
The settlement requires union officials to call off the collection agency and ensure Fleming’s credit rating is intact.
However, because New Mexico does not have Right to Work protections making union affiliation completely voluntary, workers who refrain from formal union membership may still be forced to pay part of union dues to keep their jobs. As such, union officials can begin to confiscate forced union dues from Fleming’s paychecks once they provide her with the proper disclosure
“Because New Mexico does not have a Right to Work law, Ms. Fleming may now be forced to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment to the very union hierarchy that nearly ruined her credit,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “To prevent these types of forced unionism abuses in the future, New Mexico desperately needs to pass a Right to Work law making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary”.
Twenty-three states have Right to Work protections for workers. Public polling shows that nearly 80 percent of Americans and union members support the Right to Work principle of voluntary unionism.
CVS Worker Files Federal Lawsuit Against Local Union
CVS Worker Files Federal Lawsuit Against Local Union
Union bosses spend nonmembers’ forced dues on union organizing activities
Columbus, OH (November 29, 2012) – A Westerville CVS employee has filed a federal lawsuit against a local union for using his forced union dues for illegal expenditures.
Randall Thompson filed the lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
United Food and Commercial Worker Local 1059 union officials enjoy monopoly bargaining privileges over Thompson’s workplace. And because Ohio does not have a Right to Work law making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary, Thompson is forced to pay a portion of union dues or fees as a condition of employment.
CVS Worker Files Federal Lawsuit Against Local Union
Columbus, OH (November 29, 2012) – A Westerville CVS employee has filed a federal lawsuit against a local union for using his forced union dues for illegal expenditures.
Randall Thompson filed the lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
United Food and Commercial Worker Local 1059 union officials enjoy monopoly bargaining privileges over Thompson’s workplace. And because Ohio does not have a Right to Work law making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary, Thompson is forced to pay a portion of union dues or fees as a condition of employment.
However, Thompson has exercised his right, upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Foundation-won Communications Workers v. Beck case, to refrain from full dues-paying union membership. Under Beck, workers have the right to opt out of paying for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as union boss politicking, members-only events, political lobbying, and organizing.
Under federal labor and case law, union officials must also provide workers with an independently-audited financial breakdown of all forced-dues union expenditures. This procedural safeguard helps inform workers of how their forced union dues are being spent and makes it less difficult for workers to hold union officials accountable.
Earlier this year, Thompson received a financial breakdown from the UFCW union hierarchy. The letter stated that Thompson and other nonmember workers were being forced to subsidize the Local union hierarchy and its International affiliate’s expenses for unionizing workers. Thompson’s lawsuit challenges the union officials’ expenditures for union organizing, which the U.S. Supreme Court has held has only an “attenuated connection with collective bargaining.”
Thompson seeks a refund with interest of all illegally-confiscated dues taken from his paycheck.
“UFCW Local 1059 union officials are illegally spending workers’ hard-earned money to try to force more workers into union ranks,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “In order to avoid forced unionism abuses like this in the future, Ohio needs a Right to Work law making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary.”
Twenty-three states have Right to Work protections for their workers. Recent public polling shows that 80 percent of Americans and union members support the Right to Work principle of voluntary unionism.
UPDATE: California union bosses meet resistance from nurses nationwide
Last week, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Workers West organizers in Orange County, California were booted out of a hospital for the second time this year.
SEIU officials have been trying to unionize workers at Chapman Medical Center through a backroom deal known as a "neutrality agreement" designed to grease the skids for workers to be forced into union ranks.
The agreement was anything but "neutral": Company officials granted union operatives access to company facilities to conduct a coercive "card check" organizing campaign in which union organizers pressure workers to fill out cards that count as votes for union control of the workplace. Meanwhile, Chapman waived the right to have a federally-supervised secret ballot election to determine whether employees really wish to be unionized.
SEIU organizers resorted to harassing late night phone calls, blocking workers’ driveways while they were heading to work, bribing workers with food to sign "cards" that would later count as "votes," and stalking workers. One time, workers even had to resort to calling the police to remove the unwanted SEIU militants from their workplace.
Even though Chapman workers won a settlement from the SEIU over the summer which forced the union to renounce the "recognition" it received from Chapman and forego the use of card check, union organizers managed to force a unionization election. The SEIU hierarchy lost again, 90 to 48.
Meanwhile, across the nation, the California-based National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) union hierarchy is on a crusade to unionize "every nurse in the nation." As a result, NNOC union bosses have entered into "neutrality agreements" with nationwide healthcare providers Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) and HCA Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HCA), among others.
Nurses from across the country, from Texas to Pennsylvania and Florida are speaking out against the forced unionization of their workplaces.
One major flashpoint in this nationwide battle over nurses’ workplaces recently occurred in multiple Tenet-own hospitals in El Paso, Texas. In just 10 days, three nurses from two El Paso hospitals filed federal charges against the NNOC union and Tenet for denying nurses who oppose unionization equal access to discuss the effects of unionization in their workplaces. The NLRB Regional Office in Phoenix has already found merit to some of the charges.
Moreover, in July, nurses in McAllen, Texas successfully voted the NNOC union hierarchy out of their HCA-owned hospital. And Tenet is facing federal charges in Boca Raton, Florida for enforcing a discriminatory neutrality agreement between its facility there and SEIU organizers.
In El Paso, the NLRB held a unionization election in Sierra Medical Center. And despite all the odds, a tenacious group of nurses managed to hold off the forced unionization of their workplace by 10 votes.
Despite union bosses’ crusade to unionize every nurse in the nation, nurses everywhere are fighting back against the forced unionization of their workplaces.
Ford Repairman’s Charge Spurs Federal Prosecution of Local Teamsters Union
Ford Repairman’s Charge Spurs Federal Prosecution of Local Teamsters Union
Board’s lenient treatment of union officials’ conduct shows need for state Right to Work law
Minneapolis, MN (November 28, 2012) – Teamsters Local 974 union officials are facing federal prosecution for violating the rights of a former New Brighton Ford journeyman technician.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Minneapolis issued a formal complaint against the union after Dylan McHenry of Hammond, Wisconsin filed federal charges against the union with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
Because Minnesota does not have Right to Work protections making union affiliation completely voluntary, McHenry was still forced to pay fees to the union to keep his job. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Foundation’s Communication Workers of America v. Beck case that workers are not required to pay union dues or fees for union boss political activities, lobbying, and member-only events.
Ford Repairman’s Charge Spurs Federal Prosecution of Local Teamsters Union
Minneapolis, MN (November 28, 2012) – Teamsters Local 974 union officials are facing federal prosecution for violating the rights of a former New Brighton Ford journeyman technician.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Minneapolis issued a formal complaint against the union after Dylan McHenry of Hammond, Wisconsin filed federal charges against the union with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
Because Minnesota does not have Right to Work protections making union affiliation completely voluntary, McHenry was still forced to pay fees to the union to keep his job. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Foundation’s Communication Workers of America v. Beck case that workers are not required to pay union dues or fees for union boss political activities, lobbying, and member-only events.
Under federal labor and case law, union officials must also provide workers with an independently-audited financial breakdown of all forced-dues union expenditures. This procedural safeguard helps inform workers of how their forced union dues are being spent and makes it less difficult for workers to hold union officials accountable. After McHenry resigned from formal union membership, Teamster union officials provided him with an incomplete breakdown of union expenditures.
McHenry initially filed the federal charge after the union hierarchy both refused to follow federal disclosure requirements and took money from his paychecks for its political action committee (PAC) – a clear violation of federal law.
“Amazingly, the NLRB Regional Director dismissed the allegations about the PAC contribution after Local 974 union officials claimed the illegal PAC payments were a ‘mistake,'” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The regional office refused to direct the union to refund the illegally-seized union dues or impose any other punishment against the union, even though the illegal extractions continue.”
“However, the Region will prosecute the union hierarchy for not properly following federal disclosure requirements,” added Mix. “To prevent these types of forced unionism abuses in the future, Minnesota needs to pass a Right to Work law making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary.”
Twenty-three states have Right to Work protections for their workers. Recent public polling shows that 80 percent of Americans and union members support the Right to Work principle of voluntary unionism.
Caterpillar Workers File Federal Charges Against Machinist Union in Wake of Summer Strike
Caterpillar Workers File Federal Charges Against Machinist Union in Wake of Summer Strike
Union officials attempt to retaliate against nonmember workers
Chicago, IL (November 6, 2012) – In the wake of last summer’s Machinist union boss-instigated strike against Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), two Caterpillar workers have filed a federal charge against the Machinist union and its local affiliate for violating their rights.
With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Daniel Eggleston and Steven Olson filed their charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Chicago. Foundation attorneys anticipate more charges will be filed for other Caterpillar workers at the facility.
Eggleston and Olson have refrained from union membership in the International Association of Machinist (IAM) union and its local District Lodge 851 affiliate for years and are thus exempt from the union hierarchy’s constitution and bylaws. However, because Illinois does not have Right to Work protections making union affiliation completely voluntary, they are still forced to pay part of union dues to keep their jobs.
Under federal law, workers who refrain from union membership cannot be disciplined for continuing to work during a union boss-ordered strike.
