Union Bosses Set Forest Fire Captain’s Religious Rights Ablaze

Union officials and state play God with firefighter’s rights

San Francisco, CA (May 21, 2012) – A California Department of Forestry fire captain has filed a religious discrimination charge against the California Department of Forestry Firefighters (CDFF) union for violating his statutory right to refrain from paying forced union dues to support a union hierarchy involved in activities he considers immoral.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, Susanville firefighter John Valentich filed the charge against the CDFF union with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission located in San Francisco.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act forbids discrimination against religious employees and requires companies and unions to attempt to reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely-held religious beliefs. The obligation to accommodate applies to the payment of compulsory union fees, as no employee should be forced to fund a union that engages in activities that offend their religious convictions.

Read the entire release here.

San Francisco, CA (May 21, 2012) – A California Department of Forestry fire captain has filed a religious discrimination charge against the California Department of Forestry Firefighters (CDFF) union for violating his statutory right to refrain from paying forced union dues to support a union hierarchy involved in activities he considers immoral.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, Susanville firefighter John Valentich filed the charge against the CDFF union with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission located in San Francisco.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act forbids discrimination against religious employees and requires companies and unions to attempt to reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely-held religious beliefs. The obligation to accommodate applies to the payment of compulsory union fees, as no employee should be forced to fund a union that engages in activities that offend their religious convictions.

Because California does not have a Right to Work law, nonmember workers can be forced to pay union dues and fees. However, employees who have a sincere religious objection to supporting a union – regardless of church affiliation – may divert their compulsory union dues to a charity instead.

Valentich, who has sincere religious beliefs which bar him from joining or paying money to the CDFF union, asked union officials for a religious accommodation that would allow him to redirect his union fees to a mutually agreed-upon charity. The union’s lawyer told Valentich that he was not a member of a church authorized for accommodation by California law, and therefore he was not entitled to an accommodation.

“It is outrageous that union officials and state bureaucrats get to decide which religions are state-approved and which are not,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “If someone has a sincere religious objection to supporting a union thought to be immoral, his or her rights should be respected.”

“This case provides another reason why California desperately needs to pass Right to Work protections for its workers making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary.”

Security Guards Hit SEIU Local with Federal Charges

17 nonunion employees say union officials forced them to pay more dues than actual union members because they asserted their rights

San Francisco, CA (May 18, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, six security guards have filed unfair labor practice charges for themselves and 11 others against Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 24/7. The 17 nonunion employees allege that SEIU officials forced them to pay more union dues than actual SEIU members in retaliation for filing earlier charges against the union . . .

Click here to read the rest.

San Francisco, CA (May 18, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, six security guards have filed unfair labor practice charges for themselves and 11 others against Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 24/7. The 17 nonunion employees allege that SEIU officials forced them to pay more union dues than actual SEIU members in retaliation for filing earlier charges against the union.

The guards are all employed by Guard Maintenance Services Corporation, which is party to a monopoly bargaining agreement with Local 24/7. Because California lacks a Right to Work law making union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary, nonunion employees can be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment.

In February 2012, the guards reached a settlement with SEIU officials regarding an earlier round of unfair labor practice charges. The settlement required the union to provide employees with an audited breakdown of its expenditures and allow nonunion workers to opt out of paying for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining.

Despite this agreement, union officials failed to provide the guards with any details about their expenditures and sent conflicting information about how much money they could be forced to pay. Union officials then raised the fee for nonunion employees to a level that exceeds the amount paid by full SEIU members; a move the guards allege was retaliation for the first round of unfair labor practice charges.

The guards’ charges will now be investigated by a regional office of the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency which administers private sector labor law.

“SEIU bosses are trying to keep nonunion workers in line by forcing them to pay more union dues than actual union members,” said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The NLRB should put a stop to this illegal scheme immediately, but the best solution is a California Right to Work law, which would make union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary.”

National Workplace Advocacy Group Launches Charter School Initiative

Union bosses fail to block charter school education, now seek to make charter schools part of forced unionism empire

Washington, DC (May 16, 2012) – The nation’s premier advocate on behalf of workers impacted by forced unionism across the country has launched a new initiative to assist charter school teachers and other charter school employees exercise their rights so they can make informed decisions about unionization.

Led by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, the National Right to Work Foundation’s Charter School Initiative will help charter school teachers and support personnel in the face of expanding efforts by union officials to unionize America’s charter schools.

All charter school employees are entitled to certain constitutional and statutory rights. Unfortunately, these rights are not automatically provided. To enjoy many of the benefits of these protected rights, an employee may first have to assert his or her entitlement to them.

Read the entire release here.

Jeffersonville, IN (May 8, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a Sectek, Inc. security guard has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against International Guards Union of America (IGUA) Local 143 after a union official threatened to have him fired and denied his attempt to stop paying for union political lobbying.

Michael Cragwall attracted the union’s ire when he posted a petition on a workplace bulletin board dissenting from a union official’s letter to several congressmen and senators calling for relaxed training and safety standards. The official responded by threatening to kick Cragwall out of the union and have him fired from his job.

Disillusioned by the union’s so-called “representation,” Cragwall notified IGUA officials on April 20 that he was resigning his membership and opting out of paying for union dues unrelated to workplace bargaining.

Although Indiana’s recently-enacted Right to Work law states that no employee can be required to pay union dues as a condition of employment, forced dues contracts between unions and employers entered into prior to the effective date of the law remain in force throughout the state. In such workplaces, nonunion employees like Cragwall are only permitted to opt out of paying for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as political lobbying.

Union officials are also required to provide an audited breakdown of their expenditures to help nonunion employees determine exactly what they can be forced to pay for to keep their jobs. However, IGUA officials refused to provide any information about their expenses to Cragwall. They also claimed that the union does not engage in any political lobbying, despite the fact that the dispute arose over a letter a union official wrote to several political office-holders.

Cragwall’s charges will now be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency responsible for administering private sector labor law.

“We hope the NLRB will intervene promptly to stop union officials from taking anymore of Mr. Cragwall’s hard-earned money,” said Patrick Semmens, legal information director for the National Right to Work Foundation. “Fortunately, Indiana’s newly-enacted Right to Work law will ensure Mr. Cragwall is one of the last Hoosiers who can be forced to pay union dues or fees just to keep a job.”

Honolulu, HI (May 10, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys, a Hyatt Regency employee has filed another round of federal unfair labor practice charges against the UNITE HERE Local 5 union.

Steven Taono doesn’t belong to Local 5 but can still be forced to pay union dues 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, Taono received a breakdown of union financial expenditures from Local 5. According to the union’s books, he was forced to contribute to a variety of activities outside the scope of workplace negotiations, including UNITE HERE political lobbying and a union strike fund.

Taono’s charges follow similar allegations raised last week by two other Honolulu hotel workers, who also contend that union officials forced them to pay for union political activism.

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

“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 a Hawaii Right to Work law, which would ensure that no employee can be forced to join or pay dues to a union.”

Washington, DC (May 16, 2012) – The nation’s premier advocate on behalf of workers impacted by forced unionism across the country has launched a new initiative to assist charter school teachers and other charter school employees exercise their rights so they can make informed decisions about unionization.

Led by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, the National Right to Work Foundation’s Charter School Initiative will help charter school teachers and support personnel in the face of expanding efforts by union officials to unionize America’s charter schools.

All charter school employees are entitled to certain constitutional and statutory rights. Unfortunately, these rights are not automatically provided. To enjoy many of the benefits of these protected rights, an employee may first have to assert his or her entitlement to them.

The National Right to Work Foundation’s Charter School Initiative aims to enlighten charter school employees so that they can make decisions about union representation in an atmosphere free of union boss threats, harassment, coercion or misrepresentation.

Foundation attorneys have developed free educational materials for charter school teachers and employees and are available to provide free legal assistance to workers who may need it.

“Union bosses have decided that if they can’t stop the growth of charter schools, then they might as well try to force their employees under a union monopoly,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “Of course this could prove disastrous for charter school teachers and students nationwide and we are prepared to defend charter school workers from the injustices of forced unionism.”

Court Strikes Down Obama Labor Board’s Ambush Election Rule Change

Challenged rules would allow union bosses to ambush workers into forced-dues-paying union ranks

Washington, D.C. (May 14, 2012) – Today, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has struck down the National Labor Relations Board’s new rules dictating how union organizing elections are conducted, ruling that the Board did not have a quorum necessary to enact the new rules.

The National Right to Work Foundation – the nation’s premier advocate for workers who suffer from the abuses of compulsory unionism – filed comments opposing the Board’s proposed new guidelines which would help give union organizers the upper hand over independent-minded employees.

The new rules dramatically shortened the time frame individual workers have to share truthful information with their coworkers about the adverse effects of unionization and to hear their employer’s views on the subject. In other words, the new rules were one-sided.

Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work, issued the following statement regarding the ruling:

"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. Today, the court’s ruling demonstrates once again the biased way that the Obama Labor Board has operated – a two member majority ramming through the final pro-union boss rule change without even asking the one minority member to vote.

Read the entire release here.

To read more about the court’s decision and the ambush elections rule, click here.

Washington, D.C. (May 14, 2012) – Today, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has struck down the National Labor Relations Board’s new rules dictating how union organizing elections are conducted, ruling that the Board did not have a quorum necessary to enact the new rules.

The National Right to Work Foundation – the nation’s premier advocate for workers who suffer from the abuses of compulsory unionism – filed comments opposing the Board’s proposed new guidelines which would help give union organizers the upper hand over independent-minded employees.

The new rules dramatically shortened the time frame individual workers have to share truthful information with their coworkers about the adverse effects of unionization and to hear their employer’s views on the subject. In other words, the new rules were one-sided.

Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work, issued the following statement regarding the ruling:

“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. Today, the court’s ruling demonstrates once again the biased way that the Obama Labor Board has operated – a two member majority ramming through the final pro-union boss rule change without even asking the one minority member to vote.

“Today’s decision prevents implementation of a rule that deprives employees of hearing both sides of the story about unionization and is a victory for workers. However, despite this decision, a secret ballot election can’t prevent the fundamental violation of individual rights that occurs under union boss monopoly bargaining.”