Tyson Foods Worker Slaps Union with Federal Charges for Threats and Intimidation
Jefferson, Wisconsin (August 25, 2011) – A meat processing worker has filed federal charges against a local union and Tyson Foods, Inc. officials after union officials illegally threatened to retaliate against him for exercising his rights.
With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, Tyson employee Gregory Langron of Janesville filed the charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last week.
United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 538 union officials enjoy monopoly bargaining privileges over Tyson Foods employees in the Jefferson plant. Langron recently exercised his right under National Right to Work Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent in Communication Workers v. Beck to refrain from full-dues-paying union membership.
However, because Wisconsin does not have a Right to Work law, most workers who refrain from formal union membership can still be forced to pay a part of union dues as a condition of employment, but cannot be compelled to pay the portion used for the union’s political, lobbying, and member-only activities.
UFCW Local 538 union officials recently threatened to prosecute Langron with internal union kangaroo court proceedings for allegedly initiating a petition to remove the union hierarchy from the workplace. Union officials also illegally told Langron that they would not represent him despite the fact that he is forced to pay union dues and accept UFCW union boss “representation” because Wisconsin lacks a Right to Work law for private sector workers.
Moreover, local Tyson Foods management faces charges after company supervisors ordered Langron to remove a sticker from his lunchbox representing his feelings about the abusive UFCW hierarchy.
“UFCW union officials are not only forcing workers to financially associate with their union, they are threatening independent-minded workers with kangaroo court sanctions for exercising their rights,” said Patrick Semmens, National Right to Work Foundation legal information director. “Wisconsin desperately need a Right to Work law to protect all employees from the very union bosses that claim to care about workers’ rights but clearly don’t.”
Under the recently-enacted union reform bill backed by Governor Scott Walker most public employees now enjoy the Right to Work protections that make union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary. However, private sector employees in Wisconsin currently do not enjoy such protections, meaning union bosses can order a worker fired for refusing to pay union dues.
Polls consistently show that 8 in 10 Americans support the Right to Work principle, that no worker should be compelled to join a union or pay union dues to get or keep a job. Twenty-two states have already passed Right to Work protections for their workers.
Biting the Hand: Pro-Forced Unionism New York Times Slams Obama Labor Board Over Boeing
In the New York Times, columnist Joe Nocera writes how the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) unprecedented persecution against Boeing for locating additional production of its Dreamliner airplanes in South Carolina — in part because South Carolina is a Right to Work state — has changed the game for job providers:
It is a mind-boggling stretch to describe Boeing’s strategy as "retaliation." Companies have often moved to right-to-work states to avoid strikes; it is part of the calculus every big manufacturer makes. The South Carolina facility is a hedge against the possibility that Boeing’s union work force will shut down production of the Dreamliner. And it’s a perfectly legitimate hedge, at least under the rules that the business thought it was operating under.
That is what is so jarring about this case — and not just for Boeing. Without any warning, the rules have changed. Uncertainty has replaced certainty. Other companies have to start wondering what other rules could soon change. It becomes a reason to hold back on hiring.
When even the staunchly pro-forced unionism New York Times and its columnist most known for calling the Tea Party “terrorists” acknowledge the dangerous precedent President Barack Obama’s NLRB is creating, you know there is a problem.
It’s worth noting that the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union hierarchy actually enjoyed monopoly bargaining control of the South Carolina facility before the Boeing workers removed the union. If IAM union officials can retaliate against companies for locating work in a Right to Work state and against independent-minded employees for choosing to shake off union control, then the rules haven’t just changed for job providers, but also for America’s workforce.
Mark Mix Talks Right to Work on “The Willis Report”
National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix recently appeared on "The Willis Report" on the Fox News Channel to talk about the economic benefits of Right to Work laws, the costs of government-sector forced unionism, and the Foundation’s legal aid to workers in South Carolina whose jobs are in jeopardy due to the Obama Labor Board’s outrageous complaint against Boeing.
Forced Unionism Policies Aimed at Discouraging Workers from Exercising Their Rights Overturned
Washington, DC (August 19, 2011) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) invalidated two unions’ policies that forced nonunion workers to annually renew their objection to funding union political activism within a narrow window period. The decisions result from unfair labor practice charges filed by employees against the United Steel Workers (USW) union and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) union. All of the employees were assisted by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
Under the Foundation-won precedent Communication Workers v. Beck, nonunion employees can only be forced to pay union dues for activities related to workplace bargaining. Although workers cannot be compelled to subsidize unrelated activities – such as union political spending or members-only events – IBEW and USW union officials would not accept employees’ permanent objections and instead required nonunion workers to annually restate their opposition to subsidizing union politics.
In the case of the IBEW, union officials required nonunion employees to restate their objection to union political spending every November. USW officials designated a similar 30 day window period for nonunion employees to renew their opposition to subsidizing union political activities. Under both schemes, union officials could “flip” nonunion workers back to paying full dues if they didn’t jump through the unions’ administrative hoops during the designated window periods.
The Board’s decisions require both unions to get rid of their annual objection policies and notify all employees in their respective bargaining units they no longer have to renew their objection to union political spending.
“We’re happy to report that all nonunion employees subject to IBEW and USW union monopoly bargaining need only submit a single, permanent objection to get out of funding union politics,” said Patrick Semmens, legal information director for the National Right to Work Foundation. “However, nonunion workers can still be forced to pay some union dues just to get or keep their jobs, something that can only be solved through state Right to Work laws.
In recent years, litigation spearheaded by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys has helped roll back similar annual objection policies at several major unions, including the International Association of Machinists and the Communication Workers of America.
Legacy of Big Labor Violence: A Growing Problem
As previously reported on the Freedom@Work blog, union militants are certainly making headlines of late using violent tactics and vandalism to prove their point.
Stunningly, union thugs in Michigan may have taken this to the next level last week when John King, owner of King Electrical Services, was reportedly shot by a union goon spraying the word "scab" on the side of his car in the driveway.
Of course this should surprise no one familiar with the violent legacy of Big Labor, including that of AFL-CIO union boss Richard Trumka. But for good measure, the Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) opined today about union bosses’ reliance on violence to get their way:
The attack on King is emblematic of the sad fact that the leading perpetrators of political violence today are U.S. labor unions.
They’ve grown more violent in their rhetoric as their political power grows and their appeal to workers diminishes.
According to the National Institute for Labor Relations Research, a right-to-work think tank in Washington, there have been 4,400 incidents of union violence in the last 20 years.
The Teamsters are the leading perpetrators, with 454 incidents. But IBEW, which some suspect in the King incident, is in the top 10, having engaged in 125 incidents.
All told, there have been 11,600 incidents of union violence against workers, management and the public since 1975.
In 1973, the United States Supreme Court actually ruled to grant union officials the special privilege to be exempt from federal prosecution for union violence. And shocking these numbers may seem, the National Institute for Labor Relations Research states that for reported incidences of union violence between 1975 and 2000, only three percent of those incidents have led to an arrest and conviction.
The numbers used by IBD also don’t account for the fact that most incidents of union violence go unreported (a study of one strike found seven instances of violence for every on reported on in the media) meaning that the already staggering numbers the article cites are just the tip of the iceberg.
News Release: Worker Advocate Challenges Obama Labor Board Pro-Union Boss Election Rule Change
Worker Advocate Challenges Obama Labor Board Pro-Union Boss Election Rule Change
New rule would allow union bosses ambush workers into forced-dues-paying union ranks
Washington, DC (August 18, 2011) – The National Right to Work Foundation – the nation’s premier advocate for workers who suffer from the abuses of compulsory unionism – filed formal comments today with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) opposing the Board’s proposed new guidelines which will help give union organizers the upper hand over independent-minded employees.
In late June, the NLRB proposed new rules dictating how union organizing elections are conducted. The new rules dramatically shorten the time frame individual workers have to share truthful information with their coworkers about the effects of unionization.
Moreover, the rules require job providers to disclose the personal information of workers (including their home address, phone number, email address, and shift information), thus opening up dissenting or undecided employees to intimidation, harassment, or worse.
The new rules also create a loophole which allows union organizers to claim they have support of 30 percent of employees in the workplace, the minimum number required to initiate an election, despite a dispute regarding the size of the bargaining unit in question. Then, union organizers who fear that they do not have enough support to win an election could withdraw their request for an election and use the newly-gotten personal information in later attempts to unionize the employees.
Worker Advocate Challenges Obama Labor Board Pro-Union Boss Election Rule Change
Washington, DC (August 18, 2011) – The National Right to Work Foundation – the nation’s premier advocate for workers who suffer from the abuses of compulsory unionism – filed formal comments today with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) opposing the Board’s proposed new guidelines which will help give union organizers the upper hand over independent-minded employees.
In late June, the NLRB proposed new rules dictating how union organizing elections are conducted. The new rules dramatically shorten the time frame individual workers have to share truthful information with their coworkers about the effects of unionization.
Moreover, the rules require job providers to disclose the personal information of workers (including their home address, phone number, email address, and shift information), thus opening up dissenting or undecided employees to intimidation, harassment, or worse.
The new rules also create a loophole which allows union organizers to claim they have support of 30 percent of employees in the workplace, the minimum number required to initiate an election, despite a dispute regarding the size of the bargaining unit in question. Then, union organizers who fear that they do not have enough support to win an election could withdraw their request for an election and use the newly-gotten personal information in later attempts to unionize the employees.
Foundation staff attorneys argue in the formal comments that ambush union organizing elections encourage forced unionization of workers who might otherwise be opposed to unionization, and that the rule requiring job providers to hand over the employees’ personal information to union bosses is a violation of workers’ privacy.
“The forced unionism bias is clear: The Obama NLRB is determined to make union organizing campaigns as one-sided as possible and to stifle the rights of employees who may oppose bringing a union into their workplace” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “Although a secret ballot election can’t prevent the fundamental violation of individual rights that occurs under union boss monopoly bargaining, at the very least one is needed that gives workers enough time to educate their coworkers on the downsides of unionization after months or even years of union organizing and propaganda.”
“Rather than adopting this proposal, the NLRB should encourage the rights of independent-minded employees to thoughtfully determine their own fates in the workplace without being placed in greater danger of harassment or intimidation at the hands of aggressive union organizers,” added Mix.
Union Boss Militancy and Violence on Display During Verizon Strike
Days into the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) union boss-ordered strike against Verizon, disturbing reports of union militancy — and their effects on workers and customers alike — are becoming widespread. The Associated Press have reported over 70 instances of sabotage in just the first few days of the strike.
In the video below (warning: explicit language), a striking union militant uses his young daughter as a prop, demanding she block a Verizon truck from moving while he curses out the Verizon employees in the truck.
Here’s a rundown of some of the other disturbing reports:
- One non-striking Verizon worker in New York was shot with a BB gun by union militants.
- The Boston Herald interviews a 64-year old mother of five about union strikers who picketed outside of her house while Verizon technicians repaired her broken phone line
- Senior citizens at an independent living facility in Maryland whose phone lines were knocked out in a recent storm have been forced to share phones, if they’ve been able to reach families members at all, reports the Baltimore Sun
The National Right to Work Foundation issued special legal notices informing CWA and IBEW union members of their rights to resign from union membership and return to work (see the notices here and here). Foundation attorneys have provided free legal aid to victims of union violence.
News Release: Ohio Teachers File Class-Action to Halt Compulsory Union Dues for Political Activism
Ohio Teachers File Class-Action to Halt Compulsory Union Dues for Political Activism
Union bosses illegally force Ohio’s teachers to pay for electioneering
Columbus, Ohio (August 5, 2011) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, 15 public school teachers across the state filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Ohio Education Association (OEA) and nine of its regional affiliates for violating their rights.
The group filed the class-action suit after the OEA union unlawfully overcharged the teachers – who have refrained from full-dues-paying union membership – for union “fees” taken from their paychecks, charging them for costs supporting the union’s political activism and electioneering. Per Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court precedent in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution nonmember teachers cannot be forced to pay dues or fees for union boss politics and other non-bargaining activities.
Additionally, the OEA union’s regional affiliates are collecting compulsory fees from non-members without providing the kind of independently-audited financial statements required by law.
Ohio Teachers File Class-Action to Halt Compulsory Union Dues for Political Activism
Columbus, Ohio (August 5, 2011) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, 15 public school teachers across the state filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Ohio Education Association (OEA) and nine of its regional affiliates for violating their rights.
The group filed the class-action suit after the OEA union unlawfully overcharged the teachers – who have refrained from full-dues-paying union membership – for union “fees” taken from their paychecks, charging them for costs supporting the union’s political activism and electioneering. Per Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court precedent in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution nonmember teachers cannot be forced to pay dues or fees for union boss politics and other non-bargaining activities.
Additionally, the OEA union’s regional affiliates are collecting compulsory fees from non-members without providing the kind of independently-audited financial statements required by law. In the Foundation-won Supreme Court ruling in Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson, the High Court ruled that public employees have due process rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to be notified how their forced union dues are spent, and how to prevent the spending of their dues for union political and other non-bargaining activities.
The teachers filed their lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, in Columbus, late Thursday. The teachers are employed at various school districts, including Marietta City Schools in Marietta; Green Local Schools in Green; the Western Brown School District in Mt. Orab; and the Trumbull County Joint Vocational School District in Warren.
The lawsuit focuses on unlawful union dues confiscations from Ohio teachers’ paychecks during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years and seeks to reclaim the teachers’ mandatory union fees spent illegally. The OEA is currently pouring money in support of a ballot measure to repeal the recently-passed Right to Work law, which makes union dues strictly voluntary for teachers and other public employees.
“OEA union officials have a long history of abusing teachers’ rights in the workplace to fund their political coffers,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “It’s important to remember where the OEA union machine gets a large amount of its money as it gears up its efforts to defeat recent public-sector reforms in the Buckeye State – reforms that allow teachers to opt out of forced dues payments.”
The National Right to Work Foundation – the nation’s premier legal advocate for workers who suffer from the abuses of compulsory unionism – has established numerous precedents and protected legal rights at the U.S. Supreme Court for both private-sector and public-sector workers who wish to refrain from formal union membership and full union dues payment. Currently, the Foundation has a case pending with the Supreme Court brought for teachers in California forced to subsidize union boss political spending.
