Podcast: Solis DOL Nomination Bogged Down in Scandals
As the vote on Solis’s nomination approaches, Foundation Legal Information Director Patrick Semmens sits down with Stan Greer of the National Right to Work Committee to discuss the scandals surrounding her appointment and the direction of an Obama-helmed Department of Labor.
Obama’s Union Buddies Have Their Own Private Jets to Fly to Las Vegas (and Ireland)
In all the recent "stimulus" hoopla, President Barack Obama and Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman have found themselves in something of a war of words:
Sin City’s mayor wants President Barack Obama to apologize for saying companies shouldn’t visit Las Vegas on the taxpayer’s dime.
Oscar Goodman spoke after a regular scheduled meeting with tourism officials where he expressed concern that federal lawmakers might be discouraging travel to the city…
"You can’t get corporate jets, you can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer’s dime," Obama said.
President Obama has already begun paying back Big Labor’s big money boys for spending record sums to put him in the White House. As we reported yesterday on Freedom@Work, part of this payback is the Obama Administration’s quiet attempt to delay and ultimately cancel a new rule requiring union bosses to report more specific information about how they are spending their forced dues revenue.
Members and nonmembers forced to pay dues as a condition of employment deserve the right to know where their money is going — for instance, this private LearJet, shown below taking off in Las Vegas. Machinists union bosses spent $1.8 million (from forced dues) for hangars, jet fuel, jet maintenance, mechanics, pilots, and associated loan repayments in 2006 alone.
In November, Machinists union bosses flew the jet from Canada to Ireland on workers’ dime. But the Obama Administration is moving right now to keep the ordinary unionized worker from knowing how much this and other flights by union bosses cost the employees on a per-union-official basis.
Obama claims he wants transparency and accountability — but apparently he makes an exception for union bosses.
Worker Advocate Warns Against Plans to Table Improvements in Union Financial Disclosure
This week, National Right to Work Foundation president Mark Mix sent a formal letter to the director of the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, the federal agency tasked with providing union members and nonmembers with valuable information about how union bosses are spending their forced dues.
The letter is in response to the Obama Administration’s apparent intention to delay (and ultimately cancel) some needed refinements to reporting requirements established by the Bush Administration which enhance union transparency and accountability of union expenditures.
Here are a few examples of union boss malfeasance the planned LM-2 revisions would elucidate:
- Why a local UAW union bought a John Deere tractor for $18,000 before selling it the same year for only $678
- Which Machinists union bosses are using forced dues during an economic downturn to fly to Ireland on a private jet
- How much union officials get paid in fringe benefits and whether those benefits comply with the union constitution
Mix’s letter further notes the appearance of impropriety created by the Obama Administration’s quick action to table the new disclosure requirements. Union bosses, who spent record sums electing Obama to the White House and who expect continued payback, have long opposed providing financial disclosure members and nonmembers.
Unfortunately, because of the incompetence of Bush Administration officials, these needed improvements to the LM-2 disclosure rules had not yet gone into effect — even though they had been in the works for two years. Outfoxed by the bureaucracy once again, the outgoing Bushies missed the window of opportunity by a matter of days.
For more, read the full text (PDF) of Mix’s letter.
“Stimulus” Plan Stimulates Big Labor’s Forced Dues Revenue
Last Friday afternoon, as the Senate prepared to pass the massive, pork-filled “stimulus” bill, President Barack Obama quietly arranged to virtually ensure that every construction project funded by the federal government will result in more forced union dues revenue for Big Labor.
The new executive order signed by Obama on Friday encourages government bureaucrats to adopt discriminatory, union-only project labor agreements for any “large-scale construction project” – defined as any project costing over $25 million – and thus discriminate against the 92.5 percent of private sector workers who have chosen for a wide variety of reasons not to join a union.
With the “stimulus” bill approaching one trillion dollars including many such projects, Big Labor stands to rake in literally hundreds of millions of dollars in new forced-dues revenue seized straight out of workers’ paychecks, whether they support the union or not. (Meanwhile, other "stimulus" funds will go to groups with strong ties to organized labor.)
President Obama’s new executive order comes a week after he issued two other executive orders giving the Secretary of Labor unchecked, unprecedented authority to blacklist non-union employees wanting to work on federal contracts.
Taken together, the new executive orders indicate President Obama is quite eager to repay the union bosses for spending well over one billion dollars (in mostly forced union dues) to elect Obama and other pro-forced unionism candidates.
Moreover, Big Labor’s high command is likely to funnel that money right back into its political machine in expectation of even more forced unionism power grabs – including efforts toward the ultimate goal of eliminating all 22 state Right to Work laws by federal fiat.
AT&T Mobility Employees File Federal Charges Against Union for Threats if They Should Refuse to Strike
Morristown, NJ (February 9, 2009) – Responding to employee reports across America of union intimidation, a national organization announced today that it will provide free legal assistance to AT&T Mobility employees who are threatened with fines for exercising their right to go to their jobs during an imminent national strike.
Communication Workers of America (CWA) union officials may order 20,000 AT&T employees to abandon their jobs at any moment. Numerous employees across America have contacted National Right to Work Foundation attorneys for advice after being falsely informed that they have no right to resign from formal union membership and will face hefty fines as union members if they choose to do their jobs during the strike.
Foundation attorneys have already helped two New Jersey AT&T employees file unfair labor practice charges against the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1101 union for this misconduct.
Under the Supreme Court decision Pattern Makers v. NLRB, workers have an absolute right to resign from formal, full dues-paying membership at any time. Union officials’ attempts to block workers from resigning clearly violate this precedent. Union officials have no legal power to punish nonmember employees for honoring their commitments to their employer.
Union officials have told CWA union members in Washington, Michigan, Ohio and New Jersey that any attempt to resign from union membership is prohibited. In Ohio, CWA bosses responded to one worker’s inquiry by telling him that he was employed in a “forced union” state. Foundation attorneys anticipate filing additional unfair labor practice charges for these union-abused workers in the coming weeks.
Moreover, union officials informed workers that anyone who refuses to follow strike orders will be subject to exorbitant financial penalties. In previous Foundation cases, union strike fines have exceeded thousands of dollars per worker per day.
The charges filed by Foundation attorneys seek an immediate injunction from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to prevent CWA union bosses from stopping workers’ voluntary resignations. The charges also call for a rescission of any disciplinary action taken against workers attempting to resign, a repeal of the union’s illegal rules preventing workers from resigning union membership and a notice informing all employees of their legal right to resign from the union at any time.
“It’s particularly despicable to threaten workers with fines if they refuse to abandon their jobs in the midst of an economic crisis,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “All workers should be free to support their families, free from ugly threats by union bosses.”
“The National Right to Work Foundation stands ready to defend the rights of any AT&T employee who is being illegally threatened or coerced by CWA union bosses,” added Gleason.
Nationwide Backroom Deal between Union Bosses and Tenet Corporation Forces Philadelphia Nurses into Union Ranks
Philadelphia, PA (February 9, 2009) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a registered nurse at a Philadelphia-based Tenet Healthcare facility has filed federal charges against the California Nurses Association (CNA) union and Tenet Healthcare Corporation after union and company officials entered into a backroom deal designed to force unwilling nurses into union ranks.
The charges target a so-called “Election Procedures Agreement” (EPA) formulated by Tenet officials and CNA union bosses at Hahnemann University Hospital to bypass employees’ legal rights. So far, CNA organizers have successfully obtained monopoly bargaining privileges at a Houston-area healthcare facility under similarly controversial circumstances.
The charges list multiple violations of employee rights, all designed to make it more difficult for employees to resist the CNA’s professional union organizers.
Foundation attorneys have reason to believe that the agreement signed by Tenet and the CNA subverts the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) role in supervising unionization elections and bypasses key employee protections. Although the agreement calls for the NLRB to count ballots and “certify” the union, it circumvents all government oversight procedures during the actual election.
The unfair labor practice charges also allege that Tenet officials provided CNA operatives with unlawful organizing assistance in violation of federal statutes. Under the agreement, Tenet managers are gagged from responding to employee questions about the CNA, and nurses who oppose unionization are forbidden from using Tenet facilities to express their views. Outside union organizers, on the other hand, are given free reign to push for a union presence.
“California union militants, with the assistance of complicit Tenet officials, are attempting force unwilling nurses into union ranks,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “We’ve seen this scheme before, and it’s flat out illegal. What isn’t yet clear is exactly what Tenet received in exchange for helping union officials gain access to hundreds of thousands of dollars in union dues.”
The charges, which will now be investigated by NLRB officials, also allege that the EPA amounts to illegal pre-recognition bargaining, with union officials negotiating substantive terms of employment for nurses before they acquire the legal authority to represent them. Foundation attorneys filed similar charges against the CNA and Tenet for several Houston-area nurses in 2008.
Public Employee Union Officials Sued for Forcing Employees to Stay in Union Ranks
Union bosses’ illegal scheme violates employees’ constitutional rights
Harrisburg, PA (February 9, 2009) – Three Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) employees filed a federal suit challenging two Pennsylvania laws that unconstitutionally prohibit workers from leaving union ranks.
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys, providing CATA employees Brenda Hall, Karen Ilgen, and Martha Hoy with free legal aid, filed the suit today in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Union officials rebuffed the employees’ repeated requests to resign from formal union membership in the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) local affiliate 1203B and District Council 83 unions.
Local 1203B and District Council 83 union officials are using the Pennsylvania Public Employee Forced Unionism Law and the Public Employee Relations Act as justification to compel the employees into continuing formal union membership and require the CATA illegally to extract full union dues from the employees.
As well as challenging the state law, the employees are suing for their right to retroactively object to formal union membership and obtain refunds. The employees are backed by decades of case law and U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
Click here to read the rest of the Foundation’s press release.
Public Employee Union Officials Sued for Forcing Employees to Stay in Union Ranks
Harrisburg, PA (February 9, 2009) – Three Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) employees filed a federal suit challenging two Pennsylvania laws that unconstitutionally prohibit workers from leaving union ranks.
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys, providing CATA employees Brenda Hall, Karen Ilgen, and Martha Hoy with free legal aid, filed the suit today in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Union officials rebuffed the employees’ repeated requests to resign from formal union membership in the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) local affiliate 1203B and District Council 83 unions.
Local 1203B and District Council 83 union officials are using the Pennsylvania Public Employee Forced Unionism Law and the Public Employee Relations Act as justification to compel the employees into continuing formal union membership and require the CATA illegally to extract full union dues from the employees.
As well as challenging the state law, the employees are suing for their right to retroactively object to formal union membership and obtain refunds. The employees are backed by decades of case law and U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
As a result of the National Right to Work Foundation’s precedent-setting case Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that public employees can be forced to pay some union dues, but cannot be compelled to pay for politics and other union dues beyond the cost of collective bargaining. Abood thus also established that full union membership cannot constitutionally be required as a condition of employment. The Foundation’s Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson Supreme Court victory requires union officials to provide employees with an independently-audited financial breakdown of all forced-dues union expenditures. Local 1203B or District 83 union officials did not provide such a breakdown.
“These union bosses know full well what the law requires of them, but they have deliberately kept rank-and-file workers in the dark to keep the forced-dues gravy train going,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation.
“Pennsylvania needs a Right to Work law making union membership and dues payment completely voluntary,” added Gleason.
New Obama Executive Order to Squander Billions of Taxpayer Dollars, Blackball Non-Union Workers
On the heals of last week’s executive orders that began the process of turning the Department of Labor into an aggressive union organizing outfit, another Executive Order encourages federal agencies to discriminate against nonunion workers and employers by adopting so-called "Project Labor Agreements" on federal construction projects.
Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation Stefan Gleason issued the following statement regarding the Executive Order:
"This executive order encouraging all federal agencies to adopt discriminatory, union-only project labor agreements is a shameless giveaway to Big Labor which spent over a billion dollars to get Obama and pro-forced-unionism Democrats elected last year.
"The order ensures that union bosses will collect a huge slice of federal spending in the form of forced union dues paid by workers on federal contracts. With nearly a trillion dollar "stimulus" spending planned, this action not only raises the costs shouldered by the American taxpayers, but it also discriminates against the 92.5 percent of private sector employees who have chosen not to unionize."
Bombshell: Labor Nominee’s Family Business is a Tax-Evader and Blew Off Requirements Under Health and Safety Regs
Here on Freedom@Work, we’ve kept a close watch on Hilda Solis, the California Congresswoman nominated by President Obama to serve as Secretary of Labor.
We’ve told you about Solis’ secret ballot hypocrisy, her admission that she is not "qualified" to discuss Right to Work, her refusal to answer basic questions on key labor issues, and her position as treasurer (which she failed to disclose to Congress) with a Big Labor lobbying group.
Now USA Today reports that Hilda Solis is the fourth major Obama nominee to be faced with a tax scandal:
The husband of President Obama’s Labor secretary nominee paid about $6,400 Wednesday to settle tax liens that had been outstanding for as long as 16 years against his business, the Obama administration told USA TODAY this afternoon…
Personal tax problems have tripped up three of President Obama’s nominees for top administration jobs. Two nominees withdrew on Tuesday over tax issues, including Tom Daschle, Obama’s choice head the Health and Human Services Department. The other withdrawal was chief performance officer nominee Nancy Killefer, who had a $947 tax lien filed against her in Washington four years ago for not paying unemployment compensation taxes for a household employee. She paid the debt less than six months later, District of Columbia records show.
But there’s more. According to the report, some of the tax liens resulted from "unpaid county health and safety permit fees." And Solis has the gall to seek a position that enforces health and safety laws against workplaces across America?
Maybe Solis’ cozy relationship with Big Labor’s high command over the years has given her the false impression shared by so many union bosses that they are above the law. With all those special privileges such as immunity from federal prosecution for union violence and exemption from anti-monopoly laws, union bosses actually are above the law in many respects. And with Solis running the Department of Labor, union chiefs would expect Solis — who voted with the AFL-CIO 100% of the time — to cut funding to the agency which investigates union boss corruption.
Solis’ indiscretions are even more disturbing in light of President Obama’s recent executive orders which would give the Secretary of Labor unprecedented authority to fire federal contractors who don’t grease the rails for coervice card check organizing.
This hypocrite aspiring to be Labor Secretary is poised to receive virtually unchecked power over which contractors get to do work funded by the nearly trillion dollar "stimulus" plan. Perhaps Hilda Solis should withdraw herself from consideration and get her own house in order.
