Phoenix, Arizona (July 22, 2009) – With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, five Phoenix-based employees who refrained from formal dues-paying union membership forced a settlement with the defendants in a federal lawsuit laying out how union agents conducted a corrupt scheme to divert sales commissions from the employees to union officials.

National Right to Work Foundation attorneys used the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) anti-corruption statute (establishing new legal precedent in the process) and the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) to attack a scheme allegedly orchestrated by Qwest Communications and Dex Media, publisher of the yellow pages phone books, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1269 union bosses.

Evidence discovered in the lawsuit showed that IBEW Local 1269 union officials manipulated company procedures to receive greater compensation at the expense of the nonunion plaintiffs. Some of the methods used to increase the union agents’ compensation included reassigning accounts from nonunion employees to union officials, giving union agents “double commissions” for sales made by other workers, and allowing union officials to regularly sell lucrative “group ads” while denying similar opportunities to nonmember employees. By knowingly aiding union agents as they manipulated company rules to increase their performance-based pay, Qwest and Dex were accused of bribing union officials to act against workers’ interests in bargaining negotiations.

In April, a United States District Court judge denied significant parts of the defendants’ motions for summary judgment and held that the union officials and company should stand trial for giving preferential treatment to union agents through the distorted performance-based pay system. The judge’s decision and an earlier decision denying motions to dismiss have established a favorable anti-corruption precedent enabling National Right to Work Foundation litigators to target other union schemes under the federal racketeering statute.

“Because IBEW Local 1269 union bosses acquired monopoly bargaining privileges from Qwest and Dex Media, they were emboldened to conjure up a scheme fleecing the very workers they claimed to represent,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The only meaningful way to limit union corruption is stripping union officials of their government-granted monopoly bargaining privileges and making union representation truly voluntary.”

“The Foundation employs cutting-edge legal strategies to take on such compulsory unionism abuses nationwide and forcing corrupt union bosses to be accountable to the rule of law.”

New Cumberland, PA (July 21, 2009) – Facing an imminent deauthorization election initiated by New Cumberland air traffic controllers, National Association of Air Traffic Control Services (NATCA) union officials have renounced their monopoly bargaining privileges and withdrawn from the bargaining unit entirely.

After receiving notice of the impending election, the union hierarchy apparently recognized that it was not wanted by employees and walked away to avoid further embarrassment.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, all four employees at a New Cumberland air traffic control tower recently filed a deauthorization petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), seeking a secret ballot election to remove the authority of NATCA union officials to require payment of union dues as a condition of employment. After NLRB administrators confirmed that all four employees signed the petition, a deauthorization election was scheduled for late July to determine formally whether the union could continue to extract payments from air traffic controllers.

Although all four employees wanted to eject the union entirely, they were only allowed to vote on the union’s presence when the current contract period expires. Before the deauthorization election could take place, however, union officials opted to disclaim any interest in continuing to represent the bargaining unit rather than face defeat at the ballot box.

“All four employees wanted to eject the union, but the biases of federal labor law meant their only option at the time was to strip union bosses of their forced dues privileges,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Faced with having to earn the workers’ dues voluntarily instead of seizing them under the threat of termination, NATCA bosses showed their true colors and abandoned the unit.”

Now that NATCA has formally renounced its monopoly bargaining privileges for this particular bargaining unit, all employees of the New Cumberland air traffic control tower will be able to individually negotiate with their employer for wages and benefits.

“While we applaud the efforts of the New Cumberland air traffic controllers to rid themselves of an unwanted union, these employees shouldn’t have to navigate layers of federal bureaucracy just to represent themselves in the workplace,” continued Gleason.

Philadelphia, PA (July 8, 2009) – After enduring a coercive union organizing campaign and harassment by union militants, a Philadelphia-area nurse successfully ejected the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) union, a local affiliate of the national California Nurses Association (CNA) union, from Hahnemann University Hospital.

Certifying the results, federal supervisors from the National Labor Relations Board announced that PASNAP lost the election, 309 votes to 267. Union officials may no longer force nurses to accept their “representation.”

Kimberly Hummel of Deptford, New Jersey is employed as a nurse at Hahnemann University Hopsital, a medical facility owned and operated by Tenet Healthcare Corporation. After CNA organizers muscled into the hospital using a controversial “Election Procedures Agreement” (EPA), Hummel criticized the hospital’s support for union organizers.

With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation, she filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the California Nurses Association (CNA) union and Tenet Healthcare Corporation in February 2009.

The charges challenged the legitimacy of the EPA, listing multiple violations of employee rights that hindered nurses’ attempts to resist the CNA’s professional organizers. Under the agreement, Tenet managers were gagged from responding truthfully to employee questions about the CNA, and nurses who opposed unionization were forbidden from using Tenet facilities to express their views. Outside union organizers, on the other hand, were given free rein to pressure nurses into approving unionization.

In early June, Foundation attorneys filed another round of unfair labor practice charges against the CNA, alleging that Hummel was harassed and stalked by union militants in retaliation for her efforts to challenge CNA’s aggressive organizing tactics.

Despite this intimidation, Hummel successfully initiated a union decertification election by collecting signatures from more than 30 percent of affected hospital employees who oppose the union’s presence.

“After enduring a backroom organizing deal between their employer and the CNA and union intimidation in the workplace, Hahnemann University Hospital nurses have finally restored their individual rights to free association,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation.

Santa Ana, CA (July 1, 2009) – The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation today joined a high-profile appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit challenging a public agency’s discriminatory regulations intended to enrich union officials, punish nonunion workers, and stick taxpayers with the bill.

Arguing that a so-called “project labor agreement” (PLA) between the Rancho Santiago Community College District and a union illegally discriminates against construction workers who exercise their right to refrain from union membership, the Foundation is defending the interests of the vast majority of construction employees in California who have opted against unionization.

Rancho Santiago and the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council (CTC) union entered into the PLA, which effectively precludes nonunion apprentices and contractors from working on over 50 construction projects funded by the public agency for over $300 million. Foundation attorneys filed an amicus brief supporting a group of nonunion apprentices seeking to work on the projects.

The union hierarchy does not represent Rancho Santiago employees, and the PLA is simply an attempt by Rancho Santiago to impose union affiliation on others. The PLA is essentially a collective bargaining agreement that contractors must sign as a condition of performing work on a government-funded construction project. It requires contractors to grant union officials monopoly bargaining privileges over their workers, use exclusive union hiring halls, make payments into often corrupt and under-funded union pension funds, and operate according to wasteful union work rules. The PLA also requires that all employees pay forced dues to the union or be fired from their job, as California is not a Right to Work state.

But Foundation attorneys argue that the discriminatory union-only requirement imposed on contractors bidding on the District’s projects violates provisions in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) that limit the ability of union officials to impose union affiliation on workers against their will. By denying work to nonunion contractors on $300 million worth of public projects, Foundation attorneys argue, Rancho Santiago has imposed blanket regulation of the regional construction industry – an attempt which is federally preempted under U.S. Supreme Court rulings. Foundation attorneys point out that Rancho Santiago is not acting as a valid market participant and does not directly manage labor relations at construction sites.

“Public agencies owe it to their taxpayers to award contracts to those who will do the best work at the best price, not those who agree with bureaucrats to impose union boss control on all employees,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “This discriminatory union-only contracting scheme is a payoff to union bosses at the expense of individual workers and taxpayers.”

Phoenix, AZ (June 15, 2009) – With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation, three U.S. Foodservice employees have filed unfair labor practice charges against the company and Teamster union officials for illegal collusion.

Company and union officials disregarded the results of a secret ballot election where employees clearly chose not to be represented by the union.

The workers, Felix Alvarado and Emilio Lamar of Phoenix and Dennis Dickey of Casa Grande, turned to staff attorneys at the Foundation after they received a memo from U.S. Foodservice management informing them that the company had accepted Teamsters Local 104 as the monopoly bargaining agent of all drivers, warehouse workers, and mechanics at the Phoenix facility and would soon begin contract negotiations with Teamster union bosses.

But the union lost a secret ballot election run by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in September 2008. Moreover, in July 2008, workers collected petitions from a majority of workers stating that they did not want the union’s “representation.” Without demonstrated support of the union by a majority of workers, it is illegal for the company to recognize and bargain with the union.

Foundation attorneys have filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB and are also seeking immediate injunctive relief to halt the unlawful bargaining. In addition, workers are asking the NLRB to conduct a decertification election to remove Teamsters Local 104 as their monopoly bargaining agent. A prior Foundation-won NLRB precedent determined that workers may demand a secret ballot vote within 45 days of company recognition of a union through the abusive “card check” organizing process.

Because Arizona is one of 22 states with Right to Work laws, no employees at the facility can legally be forced to join or pay any dues or fees to the union as a condition of employment. Federal labor law, however, compels all workers in a bargaining unit to accept the “representation” of a union that the company has recognized with demonstrated support from a majority of the unit’s workers. Under these circumstances, it becomes illegal for individual employees to negotiate terms of employment directly with the company.

“Concerned Americans are increasingly aware of Big Labor’s war on the secret ballot in union certification elections,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The company and the Teamster union should be ashamed of themselves for thumbing their noses at employees’ right to be free of union-boss interference in their workplace lives.”

Richmond, VA (June 15, 2009) – The National Right to Work Foundation has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) seeking any records related to the department’s decision to provide union bosses with the personal contact information of in-home service providers.

The Foundation fears employees will face intimidation at the hands of union organizers.

On May 27, DMAS director Patrick Finnerty sent a letter to personal care attendants “providing in-home services through any consumer-directed Medicaid home and community-based waiver program” informing them that DMAS has provided the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) with their names, telephone numbers, and addresses.

DMAS turned over the personal information after SEIU union officials filed their own FOIA request seeking information to be used by a union entity called Virginia Association of Personal Care Assistants (VAPCA). The SEIU and VAPCA are attempting to unionize Virginia home-care providers.

In today’s FOIA request, National Right to Work Foundation Vice President and Legal Director Raymond LaJeunesse asks DMAS to release any records related to the SEIU’s request, including the original request, any correspondence between SEIU and Commonwealth personnel, any internal or interagency communication related to the request, any communication to or from Governor Tim Kaine’s office, any DMAS or other agency communication related to SEIU or VAPCA attempts to become monopoly bargaining agents of Virginia home-care providers, any documents or communication pertaining to Commonwealth policies regarding in-home service providers, and any DMAS or other Commonwealth agency documents pertaining to the employment classification of in-home service providers.

Union organizers often use such personal contact information to badger workers into joining union ranks.

“Virginians have a right to know if the Commonwealth is preparing to impose the SEIU on in-home care providers,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Thanks to the state government, those workers now have to worry about union organizers knocking on their doors to browbeat them to join the union.”

Tampa, FL (June 4, 2009) – Today, National Right to Work Foundation attorneys announced they have reached a settlement for a Verizon Communications employee who was discriminated against by the company and union bosses because she exercised her right to refrain from union membership.

Angela Leitzel works as a field technician for Verizon in Tampa, Florida. Because Florida is one of 22 Right to Work states, Leitzel may not be compelled to pay any union dues, although she must accept unwanted “representation” of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 824 union bosses.

In February, Verizon assembled a team of Florida-based technicians, including Leitzel, for a work assignment in California out of a facility “represented” by Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 9588 and affiliates CWA International and CWA District 9. On February 17, Verizon removed Leitzel from the project, and a company representative informed her that she could not work on the project, because she was not a member of IBEW Local 824.

On March 9, Leitzel was again barred from another team going to California to perform work for Verizon. The company informed her that CWA officials would not permit her to work at the California facility because she was not a member of IBEW Local 824.

With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation, Leitzel filed unfair labor practice charges against Verizon and the unions. Federal labor law forbids employers to discriminate against employees on the basis of non-membership in a union. Moreover, CWA officials committed unfair labor practices by encouraging Verizon to discriminate against her and failing to inform her of her rights in California, which has no Right to Work law, to refrain from union membership and pay reduced fees, rights established in the Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court precedent CWA v. Beck (1988).

The NLRB Regional Director in Tampa agreed with the charges and threatened to issue a complaint against the unions and the company, so they sought to settle the case to avoid a costly and embarrassing legal battle. The settlement guarantees Leitzel full compensation for lost income related to her removal from work, and the company and unions agreed to cease all illegal discrimination on account of union affiliation. A notice to be posted at Verizon workplaces in Tampa and Bradenton, Florida, and in Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, and San Fernando, California, will inform other Verizon employees that such union discrimination is illegal.

“California should take a lesson from Florida: no employee should ever be forced to join or pay fees to an unwanted union,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The only way to eliminate collusion between Big Business and Big Labor to discriminate against independent-minded employees is to eliminate forced unionism altogether.”

Here’s the latest from the Foundation’s press room:

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a Los Angeles Times employee has filed unfair labor practice charges against newspaper and union officials for threatening him with an illegal lawsuit.

Over the past six months, union officials from the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (GCC/IBT) Local 140-N have repeatedly ordered Leon Carey, Jr. and similarly situated employees to join the union and pay full dues or face a lawsuit in California civil court, citing a clause in the union’s contract with the Los Angeles Times. Carey’s charges allege that these actions violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which prohibits union officials from restraining or coercing workers who refrain from formal, full dues-paying union membership.

Click here to read the whole thing. For more on the Foundation’s frequent courtroom clashes with the notoriously-corrupt Teamster union, click here. 

Los Angeles, CA (June 1, 2009) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a Los Angeles Times employee has filed unfair labor practice charges against newspaper and union officials for threatening him with an illegal lawsuit.

Over the past six months, union officials from the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (GCC/IBT) Local 140-N have repeatedly ordered Leon Carey, Jr. and similarly situated employees to join the union and pay full dues or face a lawsuit in California civil court, citing a clause in the union’s contract with the Los Angeles Times. Carey’s charges allege that these actions violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which prohibits union officials from restraining or coercing workers who refrain from formal, full dues-paying union membership.

Because California is not a Right to Work state, employees can be obligated to pay union dues related to collective bargaining as a condition of employment. However, employees are not obligated to formally join a union or pay dues for activities other than workplace negotiations, such as lobbying and electioneering.

Moreover, union officials must provide nonunion workers with an independently-audited breakdown of all union expenditures, which is required to allow nonunion employees to opt out of dues unrelated to collective bargaining. In addition to threatening nonunion employees with an illegal lawsuit, Teamster officials also failed to provide them with sufficient information on the union’s financial outlays.

The charges will now be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

“It’s bad enough that employees can be forced to pay union dues just to keep a job, but these thuggish tactics are completely uncalled for,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Making union membership and dues-payment completely voluntary is the only way to prevent this type of abuse in the future, which is why California desperately needs a Right to Work law.”

Chicago, IL (May 29, 2009) – With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, seven employees who refused to abandon their jobs during a strike forced a settlement with a local union after union officials levied exorbitant and illegal retaliatory fines against them.

The employees, truck drivers for industrial laundry company Lechner and Sons, filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Teamsters Local Union 731, an affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, after Local 731 union officials hit the employees with fines ranging from $13,946 to $40,000 each for not abandoning their jobs during a strike. None of the employees were truly voluntary members of the union during the strike.

In July 2006, Local 731 union bosses ordered the employees to abandon their jobs during a so-called “sympathy strike” involving a different bargaining unit of workers at the plant where the strike occurred. After the strike ended in June 2007, union brass claimed the power to use fines to discipline non-striking employees.

Union officials never informed any of the employees of their right to refrain from formal union membership and pay a reduced amount of forced dues. Instead, union officials mislead the employees into believing that formal, full-dues-paying union membership was a condition of employment.

The union hierarchy also claimed the power to discipline two employees for working during the strike even though they were not union members during the strike. The union bosses illegally threatened one employee that if he did not pay the fine, he would never again work in a “union shop.”

With help from Foundation attorneys, the employees forced Local 731 union officials to drop the fines against the seven workers and refund part of their forced dues.

“It is unconscionable for union bosses to mislead employees into union membership and then attempt to drive them into the poorhouse in vicious retaliation for working,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Confiscatory fines and kangaroo courts are just some of the disturbing, yet increasingly-used tactics of union boss intimidation that are all too common in states like Illinois where there is no Right to Work law on the books.”

The employees at the workplace have since decertified the Teamster union as their monopoly bargaining agent.

(Click here to see a copy of a Teamsters Local 731 strike fines notice in which Teamster union bosses claimed the power to use $40,000 worth of fines to discipline one of the non-striking employees.)