U.S. Appeals Court Rejects Obama Administration Stance in Case Challenging Backroom Union Deals

Obama Labor Board and Departments of Labor, Justice sought to roll back worker’s federal court victory

Hollywood, FL (May 3, 2012) – The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has shot down the Obama Administration’s attempt to roll back a worker’s protracted, precedent-setting legal victory against a local union.

The case is a legal challenge initiated by Hollywood, Florida-area Mardi Gras Gaming groundskeeper Martin Mulhall with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation.

In 2008, Mardi Gras entered into an agreement with Unite Here Local 355 union officials promising that it would hand over employees’ personal contact information (including home addresses), grant union operatives access to company facilities for the purpose of organizing through a coercive card check campaign, and refrain from speaking about the downsides of unionization. In return, the Unite Here officials expended over one hundred thousand dollars to support a gambling ballot initiative and guaranteed not to picket, boycott, or strike the facility.

Read the entire release here.

Hollywood, FL (May 3, 2012) – The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has shot down the Obama Administration’s attempt to roll back a worker’s protracted, precedent-setting legal victory against a local union.

The case is a legal challenge initiated by Hollywood, Florida-area Mardi Gras Gaming groundskeeper Martin Mulhall with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation.

In 2008, Mardi Gras entered into an agreement with Unite Here Local 355 union officials promising that it would hand over employees’ personal contact information (including home addresses), grant union operatives access to company facilities for the purpose of organizing through a coercive card check campaign, and refrain from speaking about the downsides of unionization. In return, the Unite Here officials expended over one hundred thousand dollars to support a gambling ballot initiative and guaranteed not to picket, boycott, or strike the facility.

Federal law aimed at preventing unions from agreeing to undermine workers’ rights in exchange for concessions from management explicitly prohibits employers from giving “any money or other thing of value” to unions. Mulhall sued Unite Here Local 355 and Mardi Gras in 2008, arguing that the company’s organizing assistance to the union is of substantial monetary value to the union.

In a precedent-setting decision, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit agreed with Mulhall, ruling that organizing assistance can be an unlawful “thing of value.” Union lawyers subsequently petitioned the full court to rehear the case.

Obama Justice and Labor Department officials, along with controversial National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon, filed an amicus curiae brief supporting the union lawyers’ position.

The court rejected the union bosses’ petition, even noting that not one of its regular active judges requested a poll on whether to grant the union lawyers’ request for rehearing.

“Union bosses and the Obama Administration have failed to roll back a major, precedent-setting victory for workers,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Today, the court reaffirmed that union organizing is indeed a thing of value to union bosses who want to sell out workers to pave the way for monopoly control over a workplace.”

Civil Servants Appeal Wisconsin Public-Sector Unionism Case to Federal Appeals Court

Workers ask court to uphold reform measure protecting most Badger State public workers from forced unionism

Madison, WI (May 1, 2011) – Three Wisconsin public employees have asked a federal appeals court to uphold all of Governor Scott Walker’s public-sector unionism reform measures, known as “Act 10,” in the latest development regarding the ongoing court saga.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation and the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, Pleasant Prairie English teacher Kristi Lacroix, Waukesha high school teacher Nathan Berish, and trust fund specialist at the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds Ricardo Cruz filed their appeal late last week supporting the reforms which limited government union officials’ monopoly bargaining power over public workers and taxpayers.

All three Wisconsin civil servants want to exercise the freedom to represent themselves with their employers. In their earlier brief filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, they likened “the ‘services’ provided by (union officials) to be akin to those of some itinerant street window washers who sling dirty water on your car windshield, smear it around, and then demand payment.” The teachers also object to the union’s use of their forced union dues for the union’s political activities and to the public employer serving as the unions’ collecting agents.

The workers are appealing the district court’s rulings denying them intervenor status and striking down Act 10’s provisions that protect workers with a yearly secret-ballot recertification election to determine whether they want a union hierarchy to remain in their workplace and that prohibit the deduction of union dues.

Read the entire release here.

Madison, WI (May 1, 2011) – Three Wisconsin public employees have asked a federal appeals court to uphold all of Governor Scott Walker’s public-sector unionism reform measures, known as “Act 10,” in the latest development regarding the ongoing court saga.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation and the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, Pleasant Prairie English teacher Kristi Lacroix, Waukesha high school teacher Nathan Berish, and trust fund specialist at the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds Ricardo Cruz filed their appeal late last week supporting the reforms which limited government union officials’ monopoly bargaining power over public workers and taxpayers.

All three Wisconsin civil servants want to exercise the freedom to represent themselves with their employers. In their earlier brief filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, they likened “the ‘services’ provided by (union officials) to be akin to those of some itinerant street window washers who sling dirty water on your car windshield, smear it around, and then demand payment.” The teachers also object to the union’s use of their forced union dues for the union’s political activities and to the public employer serving as the unions’ collecting agents.

The workers are appealing the district court’s rulings denying them intervenor status and striking down Act 10’s provisions that protect workers with a yearly secret-ballot recertification election to determine whether they want a union hierarchy to remain in their workplace and that prohibit the deduction of union dues.

After the workers filed their appeal, the federal district court stayed its injunction against Act 10’s annual recertification requirement with regard to the 417 unions that refrained from filing for recertification or lost a recertification vote. Those 417 unions will remain decertified during the appeal, and the 58,180 employees freed from union control in their workplace will not be forced to accept the representation of or pay dues or fees to an unwanted union.

“These three courageous workers carry on the fight to uphold workplace freedom for all of Wisconsin’s civil servants who want nothing to do with union bosses’ so-called ‘representation’,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “With the help of the National Right to Work Foundation, these workers are resisting Big Labor’s all-out assault to restore its forced-dues privileges over Wisconsin’s public workers.”

Hotel Union Faces Federal Charges for Forcing Nonmember Employees to Fund Lobbying, Strikes

Case emphasizes need for a Right to Work law in the Aloha State

Honolulu, HI (April 27, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, two Honolulu Hilton employees have filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the UNITE HERE Local 5 union.

Grant Suzuki and Daryl Sakugawa don’t belong to Local 5 but can still be forced to pay union dues and fees as a condition of employment because Hawaii lacks a Right to Work law. However, the Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent Communication Workers v. Beck holds that nonunion employees cannot be forced to pay for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as political lobbying or members-only activities.

In December 2011, Suzuki and Sakugawa received a breakdown of union financial expenditures from Local 5. According to the union’s books, both employees were forced to contribute to a variety of activities outside the scope of workplace negotiations, including UNITE HERE political lobbying and a union strike fund.

To read the rest, click here.

Honolulu, HI (April 27, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, two Honolulu hotel employees have filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the UNITE HERE Local 5 union.

Grant Suzuki and Daryl Sakugawa don’t belong to Local 5 but can still be forced to pay union dues and fees as a condition of employment because Hawaii lacks a Right to Work law. However, the Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent Communication Workers v. Beck holds that nonunion employees cannot be forced to pay for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as political lobbying or members-only activities.

In December 2011, Suzuki and Sakugawa received a breakdown of union financial expenditures from Local 5. According to the union’s books, both employees were forced to contribute to a variety of activities outside the scope of workplace negotiations, including UNITE HERE political lobbying and a union strike fund.

Suzuki has repeatedly clashed with union officials, filing successful unfair labor practice charges in 2008 to force UNITE HERE operatives to return illegally-seized union dues. Suzuki has since been targeted by union officials for harassment because he informed his coworkers of their rights to opt-out of union dues, resign their union membership, and continue working during union-instigated strikes.

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

“They’ve been caught red-handed before, but Local 5 bosses continue to have no qualms about extracting forced dues from nonunion hotel workers to fund their political agenda,” said Patrick Semmens, legal information director for the National Right to Work Foundation. “While we hope the NLRB will promptly return Suzuki and Sakugawa’s dues to their rightful owners, the only permanent solution is a Hawaii Right to Work law, which would make union membership and dues payments strictly voluntary.”

Latino Express Bus Drivers Tell Teamster Union Bosses to Hit the Road

School bus drivers desperately need Right to Work protections

Lyons, IL (April 26, 2012) – A large majority of Latino Express bus drivers in Lyons, Illinois have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Chicago for a secret-ballot election to remove an unwanted local Teamster union hierarchy from their workplace.

Led by Ramiro Lopez, who learned about his legal rights from the National Right to Work Foundation, over 50 of the 76 total drivers signed the petition.

Teamster Local 777 seized monopoly bargaining control over the workplace a year ago. However, Teamster union bosses have yet to negotiate a contract with Latino Express, a conflict that has resulted in union legal accusations against the company and picketing of the workplace, alienating workers.

Meanwhile, Teamster union operatives have singled out workers who want nothing to do with the union hierarchy.

Read the entire release here.

Lyons, IL (April 26, 2012) – A large majority of Latino Express bus drivers in Lyons, Illinois have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Chicago for a secret-ballot election to remove an unwanted local Teamster union hierarchy from their workplace.

Led by Ramiro Lopez, who learned about his legal rights from the National Right to Work Foundation, over 50 of the 76 total drivers signed the petition.

Teamster Local 777 seized monopoly bargaining control over the workplace a year ago. However, Teamster union bosses have yet to negotiate a contract with Latino Express, a conflict that has resulted in union legal accusations against the company and picketing of the workplace, alienating workers.

Meanwhile, Teamster union operatives have singled out workers who want nothing to do with the union hierarchy. For example, union operatives reportedly stalked and videotaped Lopez, who has refrained from formal union membership, while on his route and posted them on Youtube.com. At least one of those videos resulted in disciplinary action against Lopez even though it is impossible to decipher if it was actually him in the video.

Federal law prohibits further contract negotiations between Latino Express and Teamster Local 777 officials because a majority of workers in the bargaining unit signed a petition requesting a decertification election, indicating the union no longer has majority support at the workplace. The workers must now wait to see if the NLRB will grant them the election or if Teamster union bosses will do the workers the favor of disclaiming representational powers over them.

Until then, workers who refrain from formal union membership are still forced to pay union dues and fees to the Teamster union hierarchy because Illinois does not have Right to Work protections for its workers.

“Now that a clear majority of Latino Express bus drivers have shown their disdain of the Teamster union hierarchy, union bosses should remove themselves from the workplace,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “Even though Teamster union officials clearly lack the support they need to maintain their grip over the workplace, workers who want nothing to do with the union will still be forced to pay union dues and fees to the union as a condition of employment.”

“This is why Illinois desperately needs to join Indiana and pass a Right to Work law making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary,” added Mix.

Obama’s Controversial NLRB ‘Recess’ Appointments Challenged in Federal Appeals Court

Worker advocate argues Labor Board does not have legitimate quorum to hear pending cases since Congress was not in actual recess

Washington, DC (April 26, 2012) – National Right to Work Foundation attorneys filed two appeals with the U.S. Appeals Court for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago to challenge President Barack Obama’s recent purported recess appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The appeals stem from two cases, Richards, Yost, & Echegaray v. Steelworkers and Lugo v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, in which union bosses illegally forced workers to annually renew their objections to paying full union dues. Such schemes, designed to force workers into full-dues-paying union membership, are a clear violation of federal law and the NLRB found that to be the case here.

However, the NLRB – filled with President Barack Obama’s legally-suspect appointments – only applied their ruling to the workers involved in the cases and not retroactively to all workers who have objected in the past to paying full union dues to the respective unions.

As Foundation attorneys appeal to have the Board rulings applied retroactively, Foundation attorneys will again challenge Obama’s move to install three members to the NLRB as “recess appointees” in January despite the fact that the U.S. Senate was not in recess.

Read the entire release here.