Supreme Court to Review Ninth Circuit Ruling that Forces Nonunion Workers to Fund Union Political Activism
Washington, DC (June 27, 2011) – The United States Supreme Court today agreed to review a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that effectively forces nonunion California state employees to fund union political activism. The Ninth Circuit decision came in a class action lawsuit filed by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys for eight California civil servants – including two former union members – against the California State Employee Association (CSEA) union.
Under the Foundation-won Supreme Court decision Teachers Local 1 v. Hudson, public employees forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment must be notified of how much of their dues are spent on union activities unrelated to collective bargaining – such as members-only events and political activism – and given an opportunity to opt out of paying for said activities. Despite this precedent, CSEA union officials issued a “special assessment” in 2005 to raise money from all state employees for a union political fund, regardless of their membership status. Nonunion employees were not given a chance to opt out.
In 2007, a federal district court ruled that the CSEA was required to provide a notice to nonunion employees about the assessment, allow them to opt-out of paying into the union political fund, provide a refund of monies spent on union boss politics, and pay interest from the dates of the deduction to nonmembers who chose to opt out. After CSEA union lawyers appealed the case, a Ninth Circuit panel reversed that decision in December 2010.
On March 10, 2011, Right to Work attorneys filed a petition for a writ of certiorari for the plaintiffs with the United States Supreme Court.
“We’re happy to report that the Supreme Court will review a decision that effectively forces nonunion state employees to subsidize objectionable union political activities,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Allowing the Ninth Circuit’s ruling to stand would further undermine state employees’ First Amendment rights and encourage union bosses to extract more forced dues from nonunion workers as a condition of employment.”
Right to Work Fights for California Nurse’s Rights at the Ninth Circuit
Right to Work staff attorneys are helping Carol Jean Badertscher, a California nurse, fight back against California’s draconian “strikebreaker” law, which authorizes fines and even jail time for employees who repeatedly refuse to walk off the job during a union boss-ordered strike. Last Friday, the case came before a panel of three judges at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Audio of the oral argument is available online here. Below, Foundation attorney Bill DuRoss, who represented Badertscher in the argument, explains the ins and outs of the case to a group of Right to Work supporters who attended the Ninth Circuit’s hearing:
Worker Advocate Blasts Labor Board Ruling to Allow Charleston Workers Minimal Say in Boeing Case
Worker Advocate Blasts Labor Board Ruling to Allow Charleston Workers Minimal Say in Boeing Case
Big Labor watchdog slams ruling as insufficient; ploy to quietly sweep workers’ stories under the rug
Washington, D.C. (June 20, 2011) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, D.C. has ruled three Charleston-area Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) employees are allowed to intervene, albeit minimally, in the NLRB’s high-profile case against Boeing.
With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, North Charleston Boeing employees Dennis Murray, Cynthia Ramaker, and Meredith Going, Sr. filed a motion earlier this month to intervene in the NLRB’s unprecedented case targeting the company for locating production of some of its 787 Dreamliner airplanes in South Carolina, in part due to its popular Right to Work law.
An NLRB Administrative Law Judge in San Francisco denied the workers’ request and the workers were forced to file an emergency appeal with the national Board in Washington, D.C. The Board in D.C. has ruled that the employees can only file a brief in the case once the hearings, occurring in Seattle, Washington, are concluded.
Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work, issued the following statement in the wake of the Board’s ruling:
“The Obama Labor Board is poised to set a dangerous precedent that would allow union bosses to dictate to job providers where to locate their jobs with the aim, of course, of avoiding states with Right to Work protections for their workers and forcing more workers into union-dues-paying ranks.
“The public outcry regarding the NLRB’s renegade, pro-forced-unionism actions – spearheaded by the NLRB’s Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon – thus far has forced the NLRB to try to save face, but the ruling still leaves much to be desired.
For more information, visit https://www.nrtw.org/boeing.
Worker Advocate Blasts Labor Board Ruling to Allow Charleston Workers Minimal Say in Boeing Case
Washington, DC (June 20, 2011) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, D.C. has ruled three Charleston-area Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) employees are allowed to intervene, albeit minimally, in the NLRB’s high-profile case against Boeing.
With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, North Charleston Boeing employees Dennis Murray, Cynthia Ramaker, and Meredith Going, Sr. filed a motion earlier this month to intervene in the NLRB’s unprecedented case targeting the company for locating production of some of its 787 Dreamliner airplanes in South Carolina, in part due to its popular Right to Work law.
An NLRB Administrative Law Judge in San Francisco denied the workers’ request and the workers were forced to file an emergency appeal with the national Board in Washington, D.C. The Board in D.C. has ruled that the employees can only file a brief in the case once the hearings, occurring in Seattle, Washington, are concluded.
Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work, issued the following statement in the wake of the Board’s ruling:
“The Obama Labor Board is poised to set a dangerous precedent that would allow union bosses to dictate to job providers where to locate their jobs with the aim, of course, of avoiding states with Right to Work protections for their workers and forcing more workers into union-dues-paying ranks.
“The public outcry regarding the NLRB’s renegade, pro-forced-unionism actions – spearheaded by the NLRB’s Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon – thus far has forced the NLRB to try to save face, but the ruling still leaves much to be desired.
“The NLRB’s half measure is just a ploy to quietly sweep these workers’ stories under the rug while allowing the forced unionism advocates on the Board to try to appear they are not ignoring the workers in this case.
“The Board’s ruling is a further injustice to these workers, allowing only a minimal role in a case so vital to their job prospects and the Charleston community at large. Once again the Obama Labor Board is putting union boss priorities ahead of the rights and well-being of individual employees.
“Foundation staff attorneys plan to pursue all legal options to ensure that the rights of Charleston-area Boeing employees, and America’s independent-minded workers, are protected against the encroaching expansion of forced unionism.”
Late last week, Foundation attorneys also filed a federal unfair labor practice charge for Boeing employee Dennis Murray. This charge alleges that the union unlawfully retaliated against Charleston Boeing workers for removing the union from their facility. The NLRB regional office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina is investigating the charge.
For more information, visit https://www.nrtw.org/boeing.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Demolishes Union Lawyer’s Misleading Screed Against Right to Work State Workers
Kyle Wingfield of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution absolutely demolishes a misleading Wall Street Journal op-ed in favor of the NLRB’s efforts to shut down Boeing’s South Carolina Dreamliner facilities. First, Wingfield addresses the claim that choosing Charleston as a production site hurts Boeing’s Seattle-based employees:
The word “move” is key, because pro-labor people like Geoghegan have depicted Boeing’s decision to open a production line for its 787 Dreamliner jet in North Charleston, S.C., as a loss to workers in Seattle. In fact, this is a new production line; the existing production line will remain in place.
I’m sure the workers in Seattle — or, more precisely, the union leaders whom their union dues pay — would have liked for the new jobs to be in Seattle (in addition to the 2,000 jobs Boeing has added there despite its alleged hostility to unions there, but I digress). Geoghegan, however, is trying to suggest workers in Seattle are losing something they never had. That’s never true.
Wingfield also points out that Boeing’s Charleston employees have more disposable income than their Seattle counterparts after adjusting for cost-of-living, an advantage that can be partly attributed to South Carolina’s popular Right to Work law, which makes union dues and membership strictly voluntary.
Wingfield concludes, "If this is the best argument union allies can make in the Boeing case,
it’s no wonder private-sector labor unions are such dying dinosaurs."
Right to Work in the Charleston Post & Courier: “NLRB Aims to Maximize Union Dues”
Writing in The Charleston Post & Courier, National Right to Work President Mark Mix explains the broader issues at stake in the NLRB’s complaint against Boeing:
So why is the National Labor Relations Board so incensed about Boeing’s decision to open a new production line in South Carolina? And why is the IAM so eager to keep Boeing in Washington State?
The answer is simple. South Carolina protects workers’ freedom of choice.
The state’s longstanding Right to Work law ensures that while workers have the right to join a union, they cannot be forced to join or pay dues to a union just to get or keep a job. Washington State, on the other hand, allows union officials to extract dues from nonunion workers as a condition of employment.
Click here to read the whole thing. You can keep up with the latest developments in the case on the Foundation’s Boeing page.
More Television Coverage: Boeing South Carolina employee says “We’re fighting back” to keep our jobs
National Right to Work President Mark Mix was interviewed on two Fox Business programs about the Right to Work Foundation’s efforts to help Charleston Boeing employees protect their jobs:
Meanwhile, a local Charleston news station interviewed Dennis Murray, one of the Boeing employees who, with the help of Foundation attorneys, is taking action against the NLRB and union lawyers’ attempt to put Murray and his co-workers out of a job:
South Carolina Boeing Employee Hits Machinist Union with Federal Charge for Illegal Retaliation
South Carolina Boeing Employee Hits Machinist Union with Federal Charge for Illegal Retaliation
Machinist union bosses expelled from workplace trying to eliminate workers’ jobs in retaliation
Washington, DC (June 15, 2011) – A Charleston-area Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) employee has filed a federal unfair labor practice charge against the union behind the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) high-profile case against Boeing. The employee filed the charge with the NLRB regional office in Wilmington, North Carolina on Wednesday with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation.
The charge is in response to the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union and its Local 751 abusing federal labor policy – which is supposedly intended to help workers protect their rights – to bully Boeing for locating a new production line for 787 Dreamliner airplanes in South Carolina, partly because South Carolina is a Right to Work state.
The charge spells out how IAM union bosses are retaliating against the South Carolina employees by abusing the legal process to attempt to eliminate the jobs of over 1,000 Boeing employees in the Charleston area after the workers at the Dreamliner plant expelled the IAM from their workplace before the production line was located there.
The IAM Local 751 union’s charges – which spurred NLRB Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon to file a complaint against Boeing – would eliminate over 1,000 existing jobs in South Carolina if successful, not to mention several thousand more jobs that would be created once the Boeing plant reaches full production capacity.
For more information, visit https://www.nrtw.org/boeing.
South Carolina Boeing Employee Hits Machinist Union with Federal Charge for Illegal Retaliation
Washington, DC (June 15, 2011) – A Charleston-area Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) employee has filed a federal unfair labor practice charge against the union behind the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) high-profile case against Boeing. The employee filed the charge with the NLRB regional office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Wednesday with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation.
The charge is in response to the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union and its Local 751 abusing federal labor policy – which is supposedly intended to help workers protect their rights – to bully Boeing for locating a new production line for 787 Dreamliner airplanes in South Carolina, partly because South Carolina is a Right to Work state.
The charge spells out how IAM union bosses are retaliating against the South Carolina employees by abusing the legal process to attempt to eliminate the jobs of over 1,000 Boeing employees in the Charleston area after the workers at the Dreamliner plant expelled the IAM from their workplace before the production line was located there.
The IAM Local 751 union’s charges – which spurred NLRB Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon to file a complaint against Boeing – would eliminate over 1,000 existing jobs in South Carolina if successful, not to mention several thousand more jobs that would be created once the Boeing plant reaches full production capacity.
The workers in Boeing’s South Carolina plant booted IAM union bosses from their plant to help attract the Dreamliner production, as the workers did not want union bosses interfering with their job prospects. The charge against the union points out that if the IAM union hierarchy still had a presence in the South Carolina plant, then the South Carolina workers’ jobs would not be at risk.
“Workers should be free to choose whether or not to affiliate with a union and not have to worry about their jobs as a result,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “National Right to Work is proud to stand with the courageous employees as they fight to save their jobs and prevent the devastating effects the IAM union bosses’ and the NLRB’s actions will have on their community and workers across the country.”
National Right to Work Foundation attorneys filed the charge for Boeing employee Dennis Murray, who led the effort to remove the union from the Charleston plant. Foundation attorneys also represent Murray; Cynthia Ramaker, the former president of the IAM local union which was removed from the plant; and employee Meredith Going, Sr. with a motion to intervene in the NLRB’s case against Boeing. The employees’ motion is currently pending appeal with the NLRB in Washington, D.C.
For more information, visit https://www.nrtw.org/boeing.
Obama NLRB to South Carolina Boeing Employees: “You Have No Stake in Your Jobs”
Obama NLRB to South Carolina Boeing Employees: “You Have No Stake in Your Jobs”
National Right to Work Foundation attorneys continue to help workers save their jobs from union boss power grab
Washington, DC (June 9, 2011) – A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Administrative Law Judge in San Francisco denied three Charleston-area Boeing employees’ request to intervene in the NLRB’s high-profile case against Boeing Company (NYSE: BA). The judge also denied the employees’ request to file an amicus curiae brief in the case.
With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, the group of North Charleston Boeing employees whose jobs are in jeopardy sought to have their say in the NLRB’s unprecedented case targeting Boeing for locating production in South Carolina in part due to its popular Right to Work law.
The NLRB’s complaint, if successful, would eliminate over 1,000 existing jobs in South Carolina, not to mention several thousand more jobs that would be created once the Boeing plant reaches full production capacity. Further, the case could set a dangerous precedent that gives union officials a new tool to dictate where job providers locate their facilities.
Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work, issued the following statement in the wake of the judge’s ruling:
"It is unbelievable that the judge bought the General Counsel’s argument that the employees do not have a ‘legitimate direct interest’ in saving their jobs. This is yet another example of a misguided federal labor policy that favors Big Labor and Big Business despite the flowery language about employee rights.
