Springfield, OR (October 14, 2014) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, several PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center employee have filed another round of federal charges against International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 701 for failing to provide adequate financial disclosure about the amount of union dues they are forced to pay as a condition of employment.

In January 2014, Rick Wirtz, John Bykerk, and several other Sacred Heart employees sent letters to the union affirming their nonmember status and objecting to the payment of full union dues. Because Oregon lacks a Right to Work law, nonunion employees can be required to pay union fees for workplace bargaining, but they cannot be forced to contribute to activities unrelated to that purpose, such as union political spending, lobbying and members-only events.

Union officials belatedly responded to the employees’ letters in August 2014. Although they offered to reduce the workers’ dues by 13%, IUOE officials included no information about how they arrived at that figure. Under federal labor law, unions are obligated to provide an independently-audited breakdown of their financial expenditures to help nonunion employees determine what dues they are required to pay and to decide whether to challenge the calculation.

According to union officials, Sacred Heart employees could only obtain a financial breakdown if they made an appointment at the union’s office, which is a two hour drive from their homes.

After the first round of unfair labor practice charges were filed in September 2014, union officials finally sent the objecting employees an audit of the local’s expenditures. However, they provided no information about the expenditures of the union’s national affiliates. Moreover, the audit revealed that nonunion employees were being charged for “death benefits,” which are only available to full union members.

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

“When Mr. Wirtz and his co-workers asked for information they’re entitled to under federal law, union officials responded with obstruction, obfuscation, and delay,” said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Clearly, the union’s top priority is extracting as much money as possible from nonunion employees.”

“We hope the NLRB will promptly intervene to protect Sacred Heart employees’ workplace rights,” continued Semmens. “However, this type of abuse will persist until Oregon adopts a Right to Work law, which would make union membership and dues payments strictly voluntary.”

Truck Driver Files Federal Charge Challenging UAW Scheme to Intimidate Workers Exercising Their Right to Work

Union officials stonewall workers’ attempts to exercise their rights under Michigan’s Right to Work law

Detroit, MI (October 10, 2014) – A local truck driver has filed federal charges against a local United Auto Workers (UAW) union for using intimidation and coercion to stop her from exercising her rights under Michigan’s Right to Work law.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, CEVA Logistics U.S., Inc. truck driver Kathileen Sulkowski filed the charge Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Detroit.

According to the charge, Sulkowski sent a letter in August exercising her right to resign UAW union membership and refrain from paying union dues. Under Michigan’s Right to Work law, no worker can be forced to join or pay dues to a union as a condition of employment.

On September 18, 2014, a UAW Local 600 union official sent Sulkowski a letter denying her request. Further, the UAW union official demanded that she show up in person and provide photo identification in order for her to exercise her rights.

Click here to read the full release.

Detroit, MI (October 10, 2014) – A local truck driver has filed federal charges against a local United Auto Workers (UAW) union for using intimidation and coercion to stop her from exercising her rights under Michigan’s Right to Work law.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, CEVA Logistics U.S., Inc. truck driver Kathleen Sulkowski filed the charge Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Detroit.

According to the charge, Sulkowski sent a letter in August exercising her right to resign UAW union membership and refrain from paying union dues. Under Michigan’s Right to Work law, no worker can be forced to join or pay dues to a union as a condition of employment.

On September 18, 2014, a UAW Local 600 union official sent Sulkowski a letter denying her request. Further, the UAW union official demanded that she show up in person and provide photo identification in order for her to exercise her rights.

“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. “UAW union officials’ latest tactic to show up in person and furnish photo identification is designed to dissuade or intimidate workers from exercising their rights to refrain from membership.”

“On the UAW’s website, the union hierarchy opposes what it calls ‘outrageous voter ID laws’ but apparently union officials have no problem requiring ID for workers who want to resign and cut off union dues, including dues money spent to promote the union boss position on voter ID legislation,” continued Mix.

Foundation staff attorneys are assisting several workers in cases across Michigan challenging union officials’ schemes to stonewall workers attempts to exercise their rights under the state’s Right to Work law.

Right to Work Foundation Announces Offer of Free Legal Aid to Alabama Mercedes-Benz Employees

Unions collude to force workers into union ranks

Springfield, VA (October 3, 2014) – Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation, has issued the following statement in response to recent media reports regarding United Auto Workers (UAW) union bosses’ latest push to unionize Mercedes-Benz workers at the Vance, Alabama plant:

“Recent media reports suggest that UAW union officials are joining forces with foreign union bosses to unionize Mercedes-Benz employees in Alabama.

“The National Right to Work Foundation has seen again and again the UAW union hierarchy cut backroom deals with outside union groups, and even companies, that are designed to push workers into union ranks whether the employees like it or not, most recently in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Click here to read the full release.

Springfield, VA (October 3, 2014) – Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation, has issued the following statement in response to recent media reports regarding United Auto Workers (UAW) union bosses’ latest push to unionize Mercedes-Benz workers at the Vance, Alabama plant:

“Recent media reports suggest that UAW union officials are joining forces with foreign union bosses to unionize Mercedes-Benz employees in Alabama.

“The National Right to Work Foundation has seen again and again the UAW union hierarchy cut backroom deals with outside union groups, and even companies, that are designed to push workers into union ranks whether the employees like it or not, most recently in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

“In Chattanooga, Volkswagen workers were subjected to a coercive card check campaign and UAW union officials sought to block workers from the opportunity to vote on their union representation. UAW officials then challenged the results of the workers’ vote after the workers rejected unionization.

“As UAW union officials seek to export their Detroit-style forced unionism to southern auto industry facilities, history shows that workers often experience intimidation, harassment, and coercion.

“National Right to Work Foundation attorneys have assisted workers across the country who have suffered from these top-down organizing campaigns orchestrated by UAW union organizers. Workers who feel they are being unfairly pressured when deciding whether or not to associate with the UAW union may request free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys by calling 1-800-336-3600 or on the Foundation’s website at www.nrtw.org.”

Obama Labor Board Issues Ruling to Keep Workers in the Dark after Sitting on Case for Over Six Years

Obama NLRB once again ignores federal court precedent to benefit union bosses

Washington, DC (September 24, 2014) – After sitting on a case for more than six years, President Obama’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) faces federal court scrutiny once again after it issued a ruling that denies long-held federal protections for workers and allows union bosses to keep workers in the dark about their rights.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a former Crawfordsville, Indiana Kroger worker on September 22 asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the NLRB’s decision in her case.

In December 2004, Kroger hired Laura Sands. The next month, United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union Local 700 officials sent Sands a membership application that failed to inform her of the percentage free reduction she would receive if she did not join the union and objected to paying for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining.

Click here to read the full release.

Washington, DC (September 24, 2014) – After sitting on a case for more than six years, President Obama’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) faces federal court scrutiny once again after it issued a ruling that denies long-held federal protections for workers and allows union bosses to keep workers in the dark about their rights.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a former Crawfordsville, Indiana Kroger worker on September 22 asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the NLRB’s decision in her case.

In December 2004, Kroger hired Laura Sands. The next month, United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union Local 700 officials sent Sands a membership application that failed to inform her of the percentage free reduction she would receive if she did not join the union and objected to paying for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining.

In the Foundation-won Communications Workers v. Beck case, the U.S. Supreme Court held that workers have the right to refrain from paying for union political and members-only activities. Under federal labor case law, union officials must also provide workers with an independently-audited financial breakdown of all forced-dues union expenditures before they exercise their rights to refrain from union membership. This procedural safeguard helps inform workers of how their forced union dues are being spent and enables them to decide intelligently whether to refrain from membership and object to paying full dues.

After Sands challenged the UFCW Local 700 union officials’ policy of keeping workers in the dark about their rights, her case was appealed in 2008 to the NLRB in Washington, DC. The NLRB then failed to issue a ruling in the case for more than six years.

Sands filed a petition at the DC Court of Appeals asking the court to force the NLRB to act. The court ordered the NLRB to file a brief and even scheduled oral argument on the petition. However, before the argument could be held, the NLRB issued a ruling rubberstamping the UFCW’s illegal policy.

The Board’s ruling flies in the face of longstanding precedent set by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. The Board’s ruling also comes on the heels of a federal court ruling in Pittsburgh in which the judge stated in his decision that the agency’s conduct in that case “arguably moves the NLRB from its investigatory function and enforcer of labor law, to serving as the litigation arm of the Union, and a co-participant in the ongoing organization effort of the Union.”

“Once again the Obama Labor Board has trampled on workers’ rights to bolster union bosses’ forced dues powers,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The Obama NLRB is flaunting long-held court precedent to further expand its legacy as a taxpayer-funded arm for union compulsion.”

Grocery Union Bosses Face Federal Charge for Violating Kroger Workers’ Rights, Ignoring Right to Work Protections

UFCW bosses stonewall Fort Wayne grocery workers’ attempts to cut off forced dues confiscations

Fort Wayne, IN (September 24, 2014) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, two Fort Wayne Kroger workers filed a federal charge Monday against a local grocery union for violating their rights.

Eleanor Haynes and Barbara Peter filed the unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union Local 700 for ignoring their right to refrain from paying union dues.

Haynes and Peter resigned from the union and revoked their dues deduction authorizations — a document used by union officials to automatically collect dues from workers’ paychecks — effective with the expiration of the union’s contract with their employer. Under federal labor law, workers can unconditionally revoke their dues deduction authorizations when a contract between the union and their employer terminates.

Click here to read the full release.

Fort Wayne, IN (September 24, 2014) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, two Fort Wayne Kroger workers filed a federal charge Monday against a local grocery union for violating their rights.

Eleanor Haynes and Barbara Peter filed the unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union Local 700 for ignoring their right to refrain from paying union dues.

Haynes and Peter resigned from the union and revoked their dues deduction authorizations — a document used by union officials to automatically collect dues from workers’ paychecks — effective with the expiration of the union’s contract with their employer. Under federal labor law, workers can unconditionally revoke their dues deduction authorizations when a contract between the union and their employer terminates.

Under Indiana’s popular Right to Work law, no worker can be required to join or pay any money to a union.

Despite the workers’ efforts to exercise their rights, UFCW Local 700 union officials continue to confiscate union dues payments from their paychecks.

“These two Kroger workers followed all necessary procedures to exercise their legally-protected right to resign their union membership and cut off union dues,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “This case underscores just how important Indiana’s Right to Work law is for workers who want nothing to do with scofflaw union bosses.”

The charge will be investigated by the NLRB regional office in Indianapolis.

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

Ebensburg, PA (September 24, 2014) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a former Pepsi bottling plant employee has just filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against his former employer and the Teamsters Local 110 union.

When Michael Romanchock was hired by the plant in June 2013, he was not informed that the Teamsters were the bargaining agent for his workplace. He only learned about the Teamsters’ presence in March 2014, when he received a letter from the union demanding he pay full union dues and union initiation fees.

Under federal law, no employee can be forced to formally join a labor union. Because Pennsylvania lacks a Right to Work law, nonunion employees can be required to pay dues for workplace bargaining. However, they cannot be forced to pay dues for anything unrelated to that purpose, such as political lobbying or union-only benefits.

Not only did Teamster officials attempt to extract full union dues and initiation fees from Romanchock, they also failed to provide him with any information regarding how much he would owe if he remained a nonmember. Under federal law, union officials are obligated to provide financial information to objecting nonunion workers to help them determine how much they’re required to pay.

In May 2014, Teamster officials informed Romanchock that they would have him fired by Pepsi if he refused to pay up. In June 2014, a Pepsi human resources representative told Romanchock that if he did not pay the Teamsters by July 1, he would be fired. On July 1, 2014, Romanchock was fired by Pepsi at the behest of union officials.

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

“Teamster bosses and pliant Pepsi officials fired a man for refusing to pay full dues and initiation fees to a union he had no interest in joining,” said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “We hope the NLRB will rectify this injustice immediately, but until Pennsylvania makes union membership and dues payments voluntary by passing a Right to Work law, this type of workplace abuse will continue.”