Saint Louis, MO (May 14, 2014) – A Saint Louis University Hospital nurse has filed a federal charge against a major California-based healthcare union for violating workers’ rights.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Saint Louis University Hospital nurse Brian Hendricks filed the charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) union officials enjoy monopoly bargaining powers over the workplace. Because Missouri does not have Right to Work protections making union affiliation completely voluntary, nonmember workers are still forced to pay part of forced union dues to keep their jobs.

In the charge, Hendricks alleges that NNOC union officials are using illegal dues deduction authorization forms that force members to authorize union dues deductions from their paychecks and deny them the right to pay for union dues via check.

Further, Hendricks alleges that the union is refusing to provide workers with information about their right to refrain from formal union membership and failed to provide a legally-required independently-audited breakdown of union expenditures informing workers of what union dues and fees they can be forced to pay.

Healthcare professionals from across the country have filed charges against NNOC union bosses for repeated rights violations as the union hierarchy has schemed to spread from California and expand its ranks.

“NNOC union officials, who claim to represent these workers, are instead violating workers’ rights to keep their forced-dues gravy train going,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “This case underscores the need for Missouri to pass a Right to Work law making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary.”

Twenty-four states have Right to Work protections for employees. Public polling shows that nearly 80 percent of Americans and union members support the Right to Work principle of voluntary unionism.

Paris Casino Union Bosses Lose High Stakes Game Playing with Worker’s Legal Rights

Union officials threatened nonmember worker with benefits cuts and loss of seniority unless she paid dues

Las Vegas, NV (May 9, 2014) – A Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino snack bar attendant has won a federal judgment from a local union for violating her right to refrain from union affiliation.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Nani Sugianto won her case against the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 before a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) administrative law judge late last week.

In 2007, Sugianto resigned her union membership and refrained from dues payments. After nearly five years the union started to collect dues again without giving her notice. Sugianto stopped the union dues deductions.

Then, Sugianto filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB after a union steward illegally threatened her that she would lose all of her benefits and her seniority, and would be required to start over again as a new hire, unless she paid union dues even though she is not a union member.

Click here to read the full release.

Las Vegas, NV (May 9, 2014) – A Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino snack bar attendant has won a federal judgment from a local union for violating her right to refrain from union affiliation.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Nani Sugianto won her case against the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 before a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) administrative law judge late last week.

In 2007, Sugianto resigned her union membership and refrained from dues payments. After nearly five years the union started to collect dues again without giving her notice. Sugianto stopped the union dues deductions.

Then, Sugianto filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB after a union steward illegally threatened her that she would lose all of her benefits and her seniority, and would be required to start over again as a new hire, unless she paid union dues even though she is not a union member. The steward made the threats while the union was trying to swell its membership rolls and prevent workers from exercising their right to work during a union-boss instigated strike.

After hearing conflicting testimony, the NLRB administrative law judge ruled that Sugianto was the more credible witness.

“Workers’ rights are not a casino game,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “We applaud this worker’s efforts to protect her rights under Nevada’s popular Right to Work law.”

Under Nevada’s Right to Work law, workers cannot be forced to pay union dues or fees as a condition of their employment.

Twenty-four states have Right to Work protections for employees. Public polling shows that nearly 80 percent of Americans and union members support the principle of voluntary unionism.

Waikiki Hotel Employees Hit Union Officials with Federal Charges for Illegally Seizing Dues

UNITE HERE Local 5 union officials have an ugly history of violating the rights of the workers they claim to represent

Honolulu, HI (April 30, 2014) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a group of Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa employees have filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the UNITE HERE Local 5 union.

Honolulu Hyatt employees Mark Tamosiunas, Wayne Young, Steven Taono, and Agnes Demarke filed the charges late last week with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Starting around June 30, 2010, the monopoly bargaining agreement between UNITE HERE Local 5 union officials and Hyatt management expired. While the contract was no longer in effect, the workers resigned their union membership and exercised their right to refrain from union dues payments.

However, UNITE HERE Local 5 union officials are now charging the workers for union dues and fees from June 2012 to August 2013, even though no union monopoly bargaining agreement requiring workers to pay union dues or fees was in effect.

Click here to read the full release.

Honolulu, HI (April 30, 2014) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a group of Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa employees have filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the UNITE HERE Local 5 union.

Honolulu Hyatt employees Mark Tamosiunas, Wayne Young, Steven Taono, and Agnes Demarke filed the charges late last week with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Starting around June 30, 2010, the monopoly bargaining agreement between UNITE HERE Local 5 union officials and Hyatt management expired. While the contract was no longer in effect, the workers resigned their union membership and exercised their right to refrain from union dues payments.

However, UNITE HERE Local 5 union officials are now charging the workers for union dues and fees from June 2012 to August 2013, even though no union monopoly bargaining agreement requiring workers to pay union dues or fees was in effect.

Further, the workers never received a copy of the new union monopoly bargaining agreement, a notice of their rights to refrain from union membership and full dues payments, or a breakdown of union financial expenditures from Local 5.

The charges will now be investigated by the NLRB, a federal agency charged with administering private-sector labor law.

Foundation staff attorneys have assisted other workers in defending their rights against the scofflaw union. In 2008, Turtle Bay Resort employee Brenda Lee Orr and Hilton Hawaiian Beach Resort and Spa employee Grant Suzuki won a federal settlement that forced UNITE HERE Local 5 to refund union dues and fees illegally used for union politics. In 2012, Suzuki and another hotel employee, Daryl Sakugawa, filed charges after both 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.

“Once again, UNITE HERE bosses have demonstrated how little regard they have for workers’ rights,” said Patrick Semmens, legal information director for the National Right to Work Foundation. “The only permanent solution to chronic union law-breaking is an Hawaii Right to Work law, which would ensure that no employee can be forced to join or pay dues to a union.”

UPS Worker Wins Federal Settlement against Teamster Union for Ignoring Her Rights Under Michigan’s Right to Work Law

Teamster union officials stonewalled worker’s attempts to refrain from dues payments

Traverse City, MI (April 28, 2014) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a Traverse City UPS (NYSE: UPS) worker has won a federal settlement against a local Teamster union for violating her rights.

Lisa Plamondon, a 30-year UPS employee, won the settlement from the Teamster Local 406 union after she filed charges against the union and her employer with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Because Michigan did not have a Right to Work law making union dues payments completely voluntary, Plamondon was a member of the union from 1983 until 1997. In 1997, Plamondon resigned her union membership, but still had to pay union dues and fees to keep her job.

After Michigan’s private-sector Right to Work law went into effect, Plamondon sent several letters to the Local 406 union stating that she was exercising her right under Michigan’s Right to Work law to refrain from union dues payments.

Click here to read the full release.

Traverse City, MI (April 28, 2014) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a Traverse City UPS (NYSE: UPS) worker has won a federal settlement against a local Teamster union for violating her rights.

Lisa Plamondon, a 30-year UPS employee, won the settlement from the Teamster Local 406 union after she filed charges against the union and her employer with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Because Michigan did not have a Right to Work law making union dues payments completely voluntary, Plamondon was a member of the union from 1983 until 1997. In 1997, Plamondon resigned her union membership, but still had to pay union dues and fees to keep her job.

After Michigan’s private-sector Right to Work law went into effect, Plamondon sent several letters to the Local 406 union stating that she was exercising her right under Michigan’s Right to Work law to refrain from union dues payments. In the letters, Plamondon attempted to comply with Teamster Local 406’s procedure to end forced dues payments by revoking her dues deduction authorization – a document union officials use to take dues or fees from workers’ paychecks.

Teamster Local 406 union officials refused to comply with her request and told her that there are numerous restrictions on her ability to revoke her dues deduction. For example, Teamster union officials told Plamondon she must submit her request in writing, even though she has already sent several letters. Teamster Local 406 union officials also refused to provide Plamondon with a copy of her dues deduction authorization, claiming that she received a copy when she filled one out over 20 years ago.

Under the terms of the settlement, Plamondon received reimbursement of all of the union fees illegally taken from her paycheck plus interest. Moreover, the NLRB filed a complaint against UPS for its role in violating Plamondon’s rights.

“Michigan workers should not have to jump through arbitrary hoops just to exercise their rights under Michigan’s Right to Work laws,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “We applaud Ms. Plamondon’s courageous effort to protect her rights under Michigan’s private-sector Right to Work law.”

In similar cases across Michigan, Foundation staff attorneys have assisted 12 public-sector workers who filed charges with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) in Detroit and another private-sector worker who filed a federal charge with the NLRB.

Grand Rapids Teacher Files State Charges Against Union and School District for Right to Work Violations

Union and school officials collude to force school employees into dues-paying union ranks despite Right to Work law

Grand Rapids, MI (April 21, 2014) – A Grand Rapids-area special education teacher has filed state charges against a local union and the school district for violating school employees’ rights under Michigan’s Right to Work law.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Becky Lapham of Portland, Michigan, filed the state charges last week with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) in Detroit.

The 11-year Lincoln Developmental Center school teacher notified the Michigan Education Association (MEA) union that she was exercising her rights under the Foundation-won Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson case to refrain from full union dues payments and requesting a financial disclosure of how her forced union dues and fees are being spent.

MEA union officials refused to comply with Lapham’s request, claiming that she would have to wait for a union-designated “window period” in August 2014 to refrain from full dues payments, and threatened to report her to a collections agency.

Click here to read the full release.

Grand Rapids, MI (April 21, 2014) – A Grand Rapids-area special education teacher has filed state charges against a local union and the school district for violating school employees’ rights under Michigan’s Right to Work law.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Becky Lapham of Portland, Michigan, filed the state charges last week with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) in Detroit.

The 11-year Lincoln Developmental Center school teacher notified the Michigan Education Association (MEA) union that she was exercising her rights under the Foundation-won Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson case to refrain from full union dues payments and requesting a financial disclosure of how her forced union dues and fees are being spent.

MEA union officials refused to comply with Lapham’s request, claiming that she would have to wait for a union-designated “window period” in August 2014 to refrain from full dues payments, and threatened to report her to a collections agency. Lapham points out that Michigan’s Right to Work law protects her unequivocal right to refrain from union membership at any time. Analogously, federal labor law also protects workers’ absolute right to refrain from union membership at any time without penalty.

Lapham also filed additional charges against the union and Grand Rapids Public Schools for entering into an agreement illegally amending and extending the forced unionism provisions in the monopoly bargaining agreement beyond the date allowed under Michigan’s Right to Work law for public employees. That law specifies that contracts or amendments entered into after the law went into effect must respect workers’ right to refrain from the payment of any union dues or fees.

“Across the state, union officials are pulling out all the stops to keep workers from exercising their rights under Michigan’s Right to Work law,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Foundation staff attorneys are assisting workers throughout the state whose rights under Michigan’s Right to Work law are being denied by unscrupulous union officials seeking to circumvent the law.”

In similar cases across Michigan, Foundation staff attorneys have already assisted 10 other public-sector workers who filed charges with the MERC and two private-sector workers who filed federal charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Chattanooga Volkswagen Workers Stave off UAW Union Boss Challenge

Foundation staff attorneys help employees preserve their decision to reject unionization

Springfield, VA (April 21, 2014) – The United Auto Worker (UAW) union has withdrawn its challenge of the Chattanooga Volkswagen workers’ recent unionization vote with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation, issued the following statement in response to the recent media reports:

“This is a win for the workers of Volkswagen. The UAW did everything they could to silence opposition. First, Chattanooga VW employees managed to stave off a coercive unionization campaign even though the UAW and Volkswagen’s German management colluded for over two years to stack the deck against the workers.

“Despite all of this, UAW union officials’ still lost the vote. The result of the election came after the NLRB unprecedentedly fast-tracked the unionization process, further tilting the playing field in favor of UAW union officials.

“Second, the UAW attempted to exclude workers from protecting the outcome of the election. But, once UAW officials realized both sides of the case would be presented at the hearing, they withdrew rather than have their allegations disproved. We are pleased that the workers’ vote will now stand.

“This case demonstrates once again the unreliability of union officials’ ‘card check’ method of unionization, as the UAW continued to claim on the basis of cards that it had the support of a majority of Volkswagen team members and that no election was needed.

Click here to read the full release.