Threatened with employment termination for not joining union, Michigan worker files federal charges against union to protect her rights

Constantine, Michigan (November 30, 2015) – A pharmacist from Michigan has filed, with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the United Food and Commercial Workers International (UFCW) Local 951 union.

Laura Fries works as a certified pharmacy technician at a Rite Aid pharmacy in Sturgis, Michigan. Rite Aid has a monopoly bargaining agreement with UFCW Local 951. She filed the NLRB charges after a Local 951 representative told her that union membership is required as a condition of employment, coercing her into joining the union.

Local 951’s monopoly bargaining agreement was entered into before Michigan’s recently enacted Right to Work law took effect. This means that Fries can be forced to pay an “agency fee” to Local 951, but federal law protects her right to refrain from full union membership and from paying for union political activity.

On November 2, 2015, Fries was told by a union representative that she would be fired unless she joined Local 951. Fries then signed the union membership and dues checkoff authorization forms under duress, adding the phrase “did not want to join.”

When Fries called Local 951’s office later that day, another union representative informed her that she had been wrongfully told that union membership is required for employment. However, this union representative also said that Fries would have to send a letter stating her desire to refrain from union membership, and informed Fries she owed back union dues from January 2015, when her employment began. November 2 was the first time Fries had ever been told that she must pay union dues as a condition of employment and owed back dues.

On November 3, Local 951 acknowledged receipt of Fries’ letter stating she had never wanted to join the union, and wished to exercise her right to resign union membership. However, Local 951 did not indicate whether Fries’ resignation had been accepted. Local 951 also failed to provide any further information about what “back dues” Fries allegedly owed, and did not inform Fries how she could avoid paying for Local 951’s political and other nonbargaining activity, despite Local 951’s legal obligation to provide that information.

Fries’ employer began deducting union dues from her paychecks in November. The NLRB’s Regional Office in Detroit will now investigate the charge.

“Union bosses apparently will stop at nothing to trick and deceive workers into joining their forced-dues funded ranks,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Clearly, although Michigan is now a Right to Work state, workers can still be victims of union boss’ intimidation, deception and outright illegal activity. The National Right to Work Foundation is ready to fight for Laura until she is no longer subject to workplace abuse at the hands of Local 951 union bosses.”

Employee Files Federal Charges after Teamster Officials Threaten Workers Who Seek to Vote Union Out

Santa Cruz, CA (November 20, 2015) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a local Threshold Enterprises employee has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 912 union. Threshold employee Hector Garcia states that union officials threatened to have workers fired for voting to remove the Teamsters.

A union decertification election is scheduled for November 23 and 24 at Garcia’s workplace to determine whether Teamster officials will continue to collect mandatory union dues and bargain over wages and working conditions for all Threshold employees. In the months leading up to the election, union officials have repeatedly harassed independent-minded employees to discourage them from voting against the union.

Local 912 is currently the monopoly bargaining agent for all Threshold employees in Garcia’s workplace. Because California lacks a Right to Work law, this means that Teamster officials are legally empowered to collect mandatory union dues or fees from all workers, including those who oppose the union’s presence.

Garcia’s charges follow similar allegations leveled by his coworker, Enriqueta Morales, in September 2015. Morales also filed federal charges after Teamster officials threatened her job for gathering signatures for a petition to remove the union. Both Garcia and Morales’ charges contend that other employees have faced harassment and intimidation from Teamster operatives for opposing the union’s presence.

Garcia and Morales’ charges will now be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a federal agency responsible for administering private-sector labor law.

“It’s outrageous that union officials are resorting to harassment and intimidation to hold onto their forced-dues powers over workers,” said Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Employees should be free to vote their consciences without interference from Teamster goons. The National Right to Work Foundation stands ready to defend the rights of any victims of union boss harassment.”

UNITE-HERE officials refusing to comply with Supreme Court protections for nonunion employees wanting to refrain subsidizing union politics

New Haven, CT (November 20, 2015) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, two Yale University employees have filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the UNITE HERE Local 34 union. The charges state that Local 34 union officials failed to comply with United States Supreme Court-mandated procedures regarding union financial disclosures for forced fees charged to nonmembers.

Christopher Fiorillo and Gennifer Baker, through their Foundation staff attorney, filed the charges with the NLRB on Monday. They both work in the Yale University library, and had been full dues-paying union members of Local 34 since 1999, when both workers were first employed at Yale. However, in October of 2015, Fiorillo and Baker resigned their union membership and informed union officials that they would pay the reduced “agency fee” that only covers activities related to workplace bargaining.

In Connecticut and other states without Right to Work laws, nonunion employees can be forced to pay union dues or fees to keep their jobs. However, applying the Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent Beck v. Communication Workers of America, the NLRB has ruled that nonunion, private sector employees are due certain procedural protections of their right to refrain from paying dues or fees for activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as union political activism.

One of the Beck procedures requires that union officials provide independently audited financial disclosure to all nonunion workers paying the reduced fee. Local 34 officials provided a breakdown for Local 34; however, they failed to provide a breakdown for any of three affiliated unions: UNITE HERE International, the Connecticut State AFL-CIO and the New Haven Labor Council.

The charges will now be investigated by the NLRB’s regional office in Hartford, Connecticut.

“It’s bad enough that Fiorillo and Baker can be forced to pay a fee to Local 34 to keep their jobs, but it adds insult to injury when union bosses cannot even comply with longstanding Supreme Court precedent before seizing forced dues from nonmember employees.,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation.

“Of course, if Connecticut had a Right to Work law, these charges would never have had to be filed in the first place because union dues would be completely voluntary. That’s why it is long past time for Connecticut workers to have Right to Work protections so that no worker can ever be forced to pay dues or fees just to get or keep a job,” continued Mix.

Federal judge to hear from workers opposed to an NLRB scheme to impose a union the workers have already kicked out of their workplace

Chicago, IL (November 12, 2015) – Workers from Franklin Park-based Arlington Metals Corporation are testifying today at a hearing in opposition to National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 13’s scheme to force the company to recognize the United Steel Workers (USW) as the monopoly bargaining representative of its workers. The workers, 20 out of approximately 25 total employees, are receiving free legal representation from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

The case is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. Earlier this week, the judge assigned to the case allowed Brandon De La Cruz, an Arlington Metals employee, to submit an amicus curiae brief stating his and other workers’ opposition to the NLRB’s demand that the USW be brought back into the workplace. The NLRB unsuccessfully tried to block De La Cruz from submitting the brief.

Peter Sung Ohr, NLRB Region 13 Regional Director, is seeking an injunction that would force De La Cruz’s employer to recognize the USW as the monopoly bargaining representative for him and his fellow employees.

However, 16 months ago, De La Cruz and a majority of his coworkers (16 out of 26) successfully petitioned Arlington Metals to remove the union from their workplace. After the workers presented their petition, management withdrew recognition of the union as the workers’ bargaining representative, as federal law permits.

USW union officials quickly filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB in an attempt to nullify the workers’ petition and force the union back into the workplace. The NLRB’s General Counsel then issued a complaint seeking to require the company to again recognize the union as the workers’ monopoly bargaining agent.

Brandon De La Cruz, through his Foundation attorneys, filed a motion with the Chicago NLRB regional office to intervene in the Board case. Predictably, the NLRB General Counsel opposed the workers’ motion.

The NLRB has now taken the case to federal court seeking an injunction that will force De La Cruz and his co-workers back under unwanted, monopoly USW control.

“Despite a substantial majority of workers saying they do not want union ‘representation,’ the Big Labor-stacked NLRB is pulling out all the stops to protect the USW’s chokehold over these workers,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation.

“Brandon and his co-workers have clearly shown their objection to the union in their workplace. Hopefully, the federal judge will hear this loud and clear from their testimony and deny the NLRB’s injunction. But, regardless of what the judge does, Foundation attorneys will continue to fight for Brandon and his co-workers as long as the NLRB pursues this case,” continued Mix.

National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys file charges to defend and enforce Michigan’s law protecting public employees from mandatory union dues and fees

Clarkston, Michigan (November 11, 2015) – A computer science teacher in Clarkston, Michigan has filed, with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, unfair labor practice charges with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission after he was told he was required to pay union fees as a condition of employment.

Ron Conwell has worked for Clarkston Community Schools as a computer science teacher since 2001. Upon employment, Conwell joined the workplace union, Clarkston Education Association, which has had successive monopoly bargaining agreements with the school district.

On August 20, 2015, Conwell resigned his union membership as is his right under state law. A short time later, Conwell received a letter stating his resignation had been accepted, but that he would still be required to pay an “agency fee” to Clarkston Education Association as a condition of employment if he wanted to continue teaching at his school.

In December of 2012, Michigan became the 24th Right to Work state when it passed Right to Work laws prohibiting the payment of union dues or fees as a condition of employment. The Michigan Right to Work laws grandfathered union forced-fee agreements entered into before the law went into effect. However, the current monopoly bargaining agreement between Clarkston Education Association and Clarkston Community Schools was entered into in September 2015, more than two years after Michigan’s Right to Work Law took effect, and unlawfully still contains a clause requiring union dues or fees as a condition of employment.

In addition, the union and school district entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) before Michigan’s Right to Work law took effect in an attempt to extend the forced-fee requirement. However, per its own terms, the MOA expired on August 31, 2014, the expiration of the successor collective bargaining agreement, to which the MOA referred.

“Union bosses have again blatantly ignored Michigan’s Right to Work law, and violated the rights of employees they claim to represent,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “That Foundation attorneys have had to file more than two dozen cases for workers to enforce Michigan’s Right to Work laws demonstrates that union bosses have no plans to give up their forced dues empire anytime soon.”

“As this case shows, passage of Michigan’s Right to Work law was just the beginning when it comes to ending union boss forced dues demands, which is why the National Right to Work Foundation continues to offer free legal assistance to any Michigan employee seeking to exercise his or her Right to Work,” continued Mix.

Illinois law that imposes union bargaining on nonunion care providers violates their First Amendment rights

Chicago, IL (November 10, 2015) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation and the Illinois-based Liberty Justice Center, six personal care and childcare providers have filed a lawsuit against the State of Illinois and the SEIU Health Care II union. The plaintiffs are challenging a law that grants SEIU officials exclusive “bargaining” powers with state government for thousands of Illinois caregivers – including many who never joined the union or oppose the union’s presence – over policies related to their homecare practices, as well as a public subsidy their clients receive for caregiving.

The lawsuit follows the Foundation’s landmark 2014 Supreme Court victory in Harris v. Quinn, which was also filed on behalf of several home-based Illinois care providers. That decision prohibited union officials from collecting mandatory dues or fees from home-based caregivers and suggests that providers cannot be forced by state governments to accept exclusive union representation concerning their caregiving practices.

The providers’ lawsuit contends that state law infringes on their First Amendment rights by forcing caregivers to associate with a union they do not wish to join or support. The union’s power to deal with the State of Illinois over caregiving practices also violates the care providers’ right to freely petition their own government.

In recent years, union officials have increasingly targeted home and childcare providers for aggressive organizing campaigns. In Illinois, former Governor Pat Quinn signed a 2009 executive order designating 4,500 individuals who offer in-home care to disabled persons as “public employees” solely for the purpose of unionization. Quinn’s executive order mirrored an earlier directive issue by disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich, which designated over 20,000 personal care providers as state workers solely for the purpose of forcing them into union ranks. That executive order was later codified under the state law that is now being challenged by the plaintiffs’ lawsuit.

Foundation staff attorneys are also helping home and childcare providers challenge similar schemes in Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, and Washington State.

“The government has no right to appoint an ‘exclusive representative’ to speak on citizens’ behalf just because they benefit from a government program,” said Jacob Huebert, senior attorney at the Liberty Justice Center public interest law firm, who is co-counsel in the lawsuit. “Under the First Amendment, individuals get to decide for themselves what they will say to the government and who will speak on their behalf. This lawsuit asks the federal courts to strike down this unconstitutional scheme.”

“Home-based caregivers should not be forced to associate with a union they have no interest in joining or supporting,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “We hope this case will build on the Supreme Court’s landmark, Foundation-won Harris decision to protect caregivers’ freedom of association and put a stop to union bosses’ forced homecare unionization schemes.”

Workers file federal unfair labor practice charges against SEIU local for illegal coercion into joining union to stave off illegal termination threat

Rochester, NY (November 5, 2015) – Four workers in upstate New York have filed federal unfair labor practice charges against SEIU Local 200 union and their employer after they were wrongfully told that becoming dues-paying members of the union was the only way to avoid losing their jobs.

Linda Russell, Cleora Burkett, Lashanna Westley, and Phetvisay Soratana, with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, filed separate but identical charges with National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 3. They all work for Action for a Better Community, Inc. which has a monopoly bargaining agreement with Local 200 that has been in effect since March 2014.

Because New York lacks a Right to Work law, workers can be forced to pay union fees as a condition of employment. However, workers cannot be forced to outright join a union or pay for union political activity.

None of the plaintiffs are members of Local 200 and all refused to pay any fees to Local 200 until union officials provided the required financial disclosure explaining how the fee the union was demanding was calculated. Union officials are required to comply with these procedures under U.S. Supreme Court and NLRB precedent.

Local 200 never provided the required financial disclosure. On October 7, 2015, all four workers received an email from their employer that said that their employment would be terminated unless they began paying fees to Local 200 by the end of the month.

Even then, none of workers were informed of the exact amount of dues they owed or how the fees were calculated. Further, on October 23, an SEIU official wrongfully informed the workers that the union contract did not cover nonmembers and their workplace benefits would be denied unless they joined Local 200.

Despite union officials’ threats, the workers continue to be employed. Federal labor law requires that unions which become monopoly bargaining agents must represent all workers, even those who are not members.

“Desperate to fill their ranks, union bosses spread false information and held a worker’s job hostage,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “This case shows that unchecked, union bosses will brazenly violate federal law to seize money from the very workers they claim to represent.”

“A New York State Right to Work law is long overdue, and would end the injustice of permitting union bosses to threaten workers for not financially supporting a union they never chose and don’t support,” continued Mix.

UAW union bosses have filed a petition with the NLRB requesting a union certification election for a group of maintenance workers in Chattanooga

Chattanooga, TN (October 27, 2015) – On October 23, the United Auto Workers union filed for a union certification election at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant for a group of maintenance employees. In response to multiple media inquiries, Mark Mix, President of the NRTW Foundation issued the following statement:

“While UAW union officials’ decision to not push for another plant wide election demonstrates that they don’t think they can win majority support in a secret ballot election, their push to impose monopoly unionization on workers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant hasn’t stopped even though workers rejected them in an NLRB-conducted election just over a year ago.

“With the NLRB’s new Ambush election rules now in effect, events are expected to move rapidly, with an election possible in less than two weeks, which unfortunately may not be enough time for some VW team members to fully debate and discuss everything that is at stake. The NLRB’s rushed election process is particularly unfortunate here, because if union bosses are successful in this vote, it will be the first step towards their stated goal of gaining exclusive, monopoly power over the entire workforce.

“Once union officials gain a foothold, they will become the monopoly representative for all maintenance employees—even those who did not ask for or voted against union representation. These employees may lose their right to talk directly to plant management concerning matters of their own conditions of employment.

“Moreover, if the UAW becomes the monopoly bargaining representative, workers it “represents” may be forced to pay full union dues to vote on union officers or ratification of the contract. This includes the portion of dues that covers union political activities, often for controversial causes and candidates.”

The National Right to Work Foundation will offer free legal aid to any VW workers to ensure that their workplace rights are protected.

Union officials pursued grievance for similarly-situated union member while illegally discriminating against employee who spoke out against the union

New Kensington, PA (October 22, 2015) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a Unifirst employee has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the United Steel Workers (USW) Local 1324-15 union for discriminating against him by blocking a grievance appeal because he opposed the union and testified against mandatory union dues at a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) hearing.

Robert Fusillo exercised his right not to join the USW union and initiated an election with the goal of putting an end to USW officials’ practice of collecting mandatory dues from all UniFirst employees. After he and another employee were fired under similar circumstances, the union initially filed grievances against UniFirst for both of them, but later blocked Fusillo’s attempt to pursue the grievance because of his outspoken opposition to the USW’s presence.

In Pennsylvania and other states that lack Right to Work laws, union officials in unionized workplaces can impose a contract – including provisions that require workers to pay union dues or fees and abide by a union-controlled grievance process – on all employees, including those who oppose the union or refrain from joining. However, union officials are prohibited from abusing the grievance process they control to discriminate against workers on the basis of their union membership status.

After Fusillo testified in an NLRB hearing regarding the disputed results of a vote to end mandatory union dues and fees, union officials blocked his attempt to contest his termination with a grievance appeal. Highlighting their bias, union officials continued to pursue a grievance for another, similarly-situated employee. Fusillo has now filed charges against USW Local 1324-15 with the NLRB for discriminating against him in retaliation for testifying at the NLRB hearing.

“Despite workers’ protected rights to withdraw from formal union membership and to oppose mandatory union dues and fees, union bosses frequently retaliate and discriminate against independent employees who refuse to toe the union line,” said Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “This episode demonstrates that union officials simply aren’t interested in fighting for nonunion workers, which is why they shouldn’t be given the power to impose a force-dues contract on employees who don’t want and never asked for their so-called ‘representation.’”

Union officials violated Mississippi’s Right to Work law by requiring union dues or fees as a condition of job at Port of Pascagoula

Pascagoula, Mississippi (October 19, 2015) – A worker at the Port of Pascagoula has filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi against the International Longshoremen Association Local 1752 union.

The lawsuit, which was filed with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, alleges that the government imposed monopoly union violated Mississippi’s longstanding Right to Work protections for workers by demanding union fees, as a condition of employment.

Patrick Simms, a clerk, filed the lawsuit seeking declarative and injunctive relief after he was told he could not work unless he paid a “service fee” to Local 1752. That demand is in direct conflict with Mississippi’s Right to Work law, which prohibits requiring union dues or fees to get or keep a job.

Simms is an employee of CSA Equipment Company, LLC (CSA). CSA has a monopoly bargaining agreement with Local 1752 that requires that any individual CSA hires for work at its operations at the Port of Pascagoula must be referred through Local 1752’s hiring hall.

In order to be referred through Local 1752’s hiring hall, and therefore gain employment with CSA at Pascagoula, Local 1752 requires that all workers either join or pay a service fee to the union. Simms is not a member of Local 1752, but had been hired by CSA.

On April 16, 2015, Simms received a letter from Local 1752 stating that he would be denied further employment if he did not either join the union or pay the service fee. On May 1 Simms was discharged. He was out of work for one day before he agreed, only under duress, to begin paying the service fee and repay Local 1752 more than $3,000 in “delinquent” service fees.

Currently, Simms is employed by CSA and is paying the monthly union fee under protest to keep his job.

“Union bosses have ignored the clear intent of Mississippi’s Right to Work law in an effort to confiscate a portion of every workers’ paycheck as a condition of employment,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation.

“Unfortunately, this is not the first time that workers in Right to Work states have been victims of forced unionism. Right to Work laws and workers’ rights must be vigorously enforced and defended in order to protect against union officials desire to force workers to pay them just to get or keep a job,” continued Mix.