Federal Agency to Prosecute SEIU and Local Hospital for Rigging Union Card Check ‘Vote’
Orange, California (June 27, 2012) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Regional Director in Los Angeles has authorized the issuance of a complaint against a major healthcare union and hospital officials for forcing workers to accept an unwanted union in the workplace.
With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, Marlene Felter of Costa Mesa filed charges with the NLRB after Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Workers West officials and Chapman Medical Center colluded to illegally rig a union organizing “vote” to pave the way for the union to claim to “represent” the workers.
SEIU officials and Chapman Medical Center management entered into a backroom deal, known as a so-called “neutrality agreement,” in which company officials granted union operatives access to company facilities to conduct a coercive “card check” organizing campaign, and waived the right to have a federally-supervised secret ballot election to determine whether employees wished to be unionized. Union organizers frequently use “card check” organizing tactics to bribe, browbeat, or cajole workers into forced-union-dues payments against their will.
In response to the union’s coercive tactics, a majority of hospital workers signed cards, letters, and petitions stating that they did not want the SEIU bosses’ so-called “representation.” Instead of respecting the employees’ wishes, Chapman officials accepted SEIU officials as the workers’ monopoly bargaining agents after a rigged “card count” was held. Chapman and SEIU officials were in the process of negotiating a contract which almost certainly would include a provision to force the workers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment, because California does not have a Right to Work law that makes union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary.
The NLRB Regional Office subpoenaed records from SEIU and found merit to Felter’s charges. The agency will prosecute the union and hospital if a settlement is not reached. Such settlement will, of necessity, include rescission of the union’s representational status at Chapman.
“Chapman and SEIU officials have colluded to shove SEIU union bosses’ ‘representation’ – and with it forced dues payments – down workers’ throats,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “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. This further makes the case that California desperately needs a Right to Work law on the books making union affiliation completely voluntary.”
Government Union Officials Sic Collection Agency on Unsuspecting Public Defender for Illegal Forced Dues
Government Union Officials Sic Collection Agency on Unsuspecting Public Defender for Illegal Forced Dues
Worker unaware of union officials’ so-called representation; case shows need for state Right to Work law
Albuquerque, NM (June 26, 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 filed a charge against a local union for wrongfully charging her with failure to pay union dues for the past five years.
Nancy Fleming filed the charge with the New Mexico Public Employee Labor Relations Board against American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) New Mexico Council 18 union for illegally trying to confiscate forced union dues payments from her paycheck without notifying her that she was in the union’s monopoly bargaining unit and refusing to follow federal disclosure requirements.
Fleming was unaware that AFSCME Council 18 union officials’ claimed to “represent” her and 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.
Government Union Officials Sic Collection Agency on Unsuspecting Public Defender for Illegal Forced Dues
Albuquerque, NM (June 26, 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 filed a charge against a local union for wrongfully charging her with failure to pay union dues for the past five years.
Nancy Fleming filed the charge with the New Mexico Public Employee Labor Relations Board against American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) New Mexico Council 18 union for illegally trying to confiscate forced union dues payments from her paycheck without notifying her that she was in the union’s monopoly bargaining unit and refusing to follow federal disclosure requirements.
Fleming was unaware that AFSCME Council 18 union officials’ claimed to “represent” her and 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.
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. However, federal case law requires union officials to inform nonmember workers of where their union dues are being spent.
In New Mexico, union officials often report workers who do not make union dues payments to a collection agency, opening the door for unsuspecting workers to find themselves being harassed by a collection agency for payment of union dues when they did not even know their workplace was unionized.
“AFSCME union bosses are charging an unsuspecting worker for ‘representation’ she did not even know existed until a collection agency harassed her for delinquent payments,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “Thanks to biased federal and state laws, union officials are the only private individuals who can claim to ‘represent’ someone and then demand payment from them – but union officials must at least inform workers of their rights before they do so.”
“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,” added Mix.
Twenty-three states have Right to Work protections for workers. Recent public polling shows that nearly 80 percent of Americans and 80 percent of union members support the Right to Work principle of voluntary unionism.
Washington Examiner on Knox Win: “Public unions lose automatic political cash from nonmembers”
Like The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Examiner also noted the landmark implications of the Foundation’s latest Supreme Court victory. Here’s the crux of their editorial on the Knox case:
The 7-2 majority — which included a concurrence by liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg — agreed that the union had acted illegally. But the sharpest cut comes from the court’s narrower 5-4 majority opinion by Justice Samuel Alito. It held that for unions to deduct special political contributions from nonmembers’ paychecks — as occurred in this case — those workers must explicitly opt in, as opposed to having to opt out. Otherwise, as in this case, the union will at best receive a free loan for political activity at nonunion employees’ expense. At worst, employees burdened with the normal concerns of life may well forget to claim their full rights, and the unions’ political activities will thrive by default at their expense.
"Public-sector unions have the right under the First Amendment to express their views on political and social issues without government interference," Alito wrote. "But employees who choose not to join a union have the same rights." It should come as little surprise that nonunion workers do not want to contribute to union political initiatives, especially ones that attack nonunion workers’ rights.
For more on the case, check out the Foundation’s press release on the decision and Knox webpage.
WSJ: New Foundation-won Supreme Court Precedent Harbinger of More Pro-Worker Decisions?
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an illegal Service Employees International Union (SEIU) political fee charged to California state workers without notice and opportunity to opt out.
And now for the first time, the Court is requiring union officials to obtain affirmative consent from workers before they increase union dues and fees or slap workers with "special assessments" for union boss political spending.
Not only is this Foundation victory a victory for the First Amendment principles of free speech and free association, but Justice Samuel Alito acknowledged the tension the Court has created by allowing Big Labor to get away with so much for so long.
The very fact that a five-member majority of the U.S. Supreme Court openly questioned Big Labor’s incredible power to force workers info forced-dues payments suggests Big Labor has overplayed its hand and the Court may be willing to hear more cases to reconsider some of its pro-Big Labor precedents and possibly even freeing workers from the shackles of forced unionism. Via the Wall Street Journal:
Writing for a five-member majority, however, Justice Samuel Alito raises larger questions about compulsory union dues and individual rights. Shouldn’t the people who choose not to join a union, he asks, have to opt into political and ideological activities that they may presumably dispute—rather than opt out? "Which side should bear the risk?" he continues. "The answer is obvious: the side whose constitutional rights are not at stake."
Thus Knox may provide an opening to revisit some of the Court’s precedents that force people to subsidize political views or escapades contrary to their values—not to mention the First Amendment. Stay tuned.
Victory: Supreme Court Strikes Down SEIU Scheme to Force CA Nonunion State Employees to Fund Union Politics
Supreme Court Strikes Down SEIU Scheme to Force CA Nonunion State Employees to Fund Union Politics
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys close union boss political fundraising loophole, winning again at U.S. Supreme Court
Washington, DC (June 21, 2012) – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 today, siding with nonmember California state employees challenging a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) political fee charged to them without notice and opportunity to opt out.
The case concludes a prolonged legal challenge affecting some 36,000 California government employees initiated by eight California civil servants who filed a class-action lawsuit with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
In 2005, SEIU officials imposed a “special assessment” to raise money from all state employees forced to accept union representation as a job condition for a union political fund, regardless of their membership status. The fund was used to defeat four ballot proposals, including one that would have revoked public employee unions’ special privilege of using forced fees for politics unless an employee consents. Employees who refrained from union membership were given no chance to opt out of paying the SEIU’s political assessment.
Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work, issued the following statement regarding today’s ruling:
“Today, the United States Supreme Court upheld workers’ First Amendment rights and struck down another union boss scheme to confiscate and spend state workers’ hard earned money for politics without their permission.”
Supreme Court Strikes Down SEIU Scheme to Force CA Nonunion State Employees to Fund Union Politics
Washington, DC (June 21, 2012) – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 today, siding with nonmember California state employees challenging a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) political fee charged to them without notice and opportunity to opt out.
The case concludes a prolonged legal challenge affecting some 36,000 California government employees initiated by eight California civil servants who filed a class-action lawsuit with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
In 2005, SEIU officials imposed a “special assessment” to raise money from all state employees forced to accept union representation as a job condition for a union political fund, regardless of their membership status. The fund was used to defeat four ballot proposals, including one that would have revoked public employee unions’ special privilege of using forced fees for politics unless an employee consents. Employees who refrained from union membership were given no chance to opt out of paying the SEIU’s political assessment.
Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work, issued the following statement regarding today’s ruling:
“Today, the United States Supreme Court upheld workers’ First Amendment rights and struck down another union boss scheme to confiscate and spend state workers’ hard earned money for politics without their permission.
“Attorneys from the National Right to Work Foundation – the nation’s leading advocate for workers who suffer from the abuses of compulsory unionism – argued, and the Court agreed, that the workers should not be forced to subsidize union officials’ political spending, even for a short period of time.
“The Court closed a giant loophole that allowed union bosses to confiscate money from workers’ paychecks for political spending sprees – and sent a message to union officials, once again, that forced political conformity is unconstitutional.”
For more information on the case, please visit the National Right to Work Foundation’s Knox Supreme Court case page at https://www.nrtw.org/en/knox/.
NLRB Watch: Latest Installment Available Online!
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 newest blog feature, "NLRB Watch." 
In "NLRB Watch" #5, Raudabaugh explains how the NLRB’s newest webpage boldly demonstrates its forced unionism bias and how it’s just the tip of the iceberg:
Typical of the current NLRB, however, the [webpage] bold faces the statute’s Section 7 right “to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection,” but does not bold the remainder of the statutory sentence: “and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all such activities.”
Why after 77 years, is the NLRB highlighting “protected concerted activity”? Is it because the agency’s caseload has diminished over the years, and it is desperate to ramp up activity to justify its ever increasing federal budget?…
Or, is the current NLRB pushing internet outreach to help unions reverse their losses?
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!
LA Times Printers Win NLRB Settlement against Scofflaw Teamster Union Officials
Los Angeles, CA (June 20, 2012) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, three Los Angeles Times printing press employees have reached a settlement with the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 140-N after union officials attempted to force them to join the union and pay full union dues.
Leon Carey, Jr., Richard Hernandez, and James Clayton filed their unfair labor practice charges against the Teamsters last January when union officials told them to join the union and pay full dues or be fired. Carey also filed unfair labor practice charges against the Teamsters in 2009 after union lawyers sued him because he wasn’t a full dues-paying union member.
Because California lacks a Right to Work law, employees can be compelled to pay fees to a union as a condition of employment. The Los Angeles Times and Teamsters Local 140-N are party to a contract that purports to require all printing press workers to become full dues-paying union members. However, Supreme Court precedent guarantees that employees have the right to refrain from union membership and the right to opt out of paying for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as members-only events and political lobbying.
According to the settlement’s terms, Teamster officials must respect employees’ rights to refrain from union membership and opt out of paying full dues, cease levying discriminatory initiation fees, disclose their expenditures to allow nonunion employees to determine what they’re obligated to pay, and remove a union policy that requires employees to annually renew their objections to paying full union dues.
“After multiple unfair labor practice charges, Teamster bosses will finally have to stop coercing independent-minded workers into joining their union and paying full dues,” said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation.
“Unfortunately, employees like Leon Carey, Jr., Richard Hernandez, and James Clayton will still be forced to send part of their hard-earned salaries to the same union officials who disregarded their rights. That’s why California desperately needs a Right to Work law, which would make dues payment and union membership strictly voluntary.”
Union Officials Face Lawsuit for Keeping Teacher’s Charitable Donations in Union Coffers
Suffolk County, NY (June 18, 2012) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a local teacher has filed a lawsuit in state supreme court against two unions for refusing to tell her what they did with union dues that were supposed to have been sent to charities.
Maureen Stavrakoglou is employed by the Brentwood School District, which requires all teachers to pay dues to the Brentwood Teachers Association (BTA) union and its state affiliate, the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) union, as a condition of employment. However, teachers with sincere religious objections to supporting a union are entitled to request that their union dues be redirected to a mutually agreed upon charity.
In 2005, the BTA and NYSUT unions came to an agreement with Stavrakoglou that redirected all of her NYSUT dues to charity. After the agreement was finalized, Stavrakoglou asked union officials to redirect her dues for 2007-2008 to the Make a Wish Foundation. The BTA’s president subsequently assured Stavrakoglou that the dues would be sent to the charity she designated.
Stavrakoglou has since designated several new charities for her union dues. However, two of the charities she chose – The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation – have no record of ever receiving a donation from the union under Stavrakoglou’s name. A third charity, The NYC Firefighters’ Burn Foundation, only received Stavrakoglou’s donation after she called union officials to inquire about the status of her dues. The donation was made over half a year after it was supposed to have been done.
Stavrakoglou’s lawsuit seeks an account of how her union dues were spent and the immediate payment of any illegally-confiscated dues to the charities she designated. She also seeks punitive damages from the BTA and the NYSUT unions.
“After telling Maureen Stavrakoglou they’d respect her religious objections and redirect her dues to charity, teacher union bosses appear to have brazenly ignored her wishes,” said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Cases like this demonstrate the need for a New York Right to Work law, which would make union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary.”
