National Right to Work Foundation Issues Legal Notice to UPS Employees as Nationwide Strike Looms
Notice provides important information to those who want to work during the strike
Washington, DC (July 10, 2023) – Today, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation issued a special legal notice to employees of UPS in light of news reports indicating that Teamsters union officials are on the brink of issuing a nationwide strike order against the shipping giant. The legal notice is available at the Foundation’s website here: www.nrtw.org/UPS.
The Foundation is the nation’s premier organization dedicated to defending workers’ legal rights from forced unionism abuses. Rank-and-file workers who are interested in continuing to work and providing for their families during a strike often contact the Foundation for free legal aid to avoid strike discipline, or to resist intimidation often perpetrated by union officials.
“The Foundation wants you to learn about your legal rights from independent sources,” the notice reminds UPS workers. “You should not rely on what self-interested union officials tell you.”
Employees Have Right to Rebuff Union Strike Orders
The legal notice informs UPS workers who want to work during a strike that they should submit resignations prior to returning to work, because doing so is the best way to avoid union fines and vindictive union discipline. “Your resignation letter must be postmarked THE DAY BEFORE you return to work, or hand delivered BEFORE you actually return to work,” the notice reads. Sample union membership resignation letters are available on the Foundation’s website.
The notice also informs employees of other actions they can take to disaffiliate from the Teamsters union, including how to stop funding unwanted union activities.
“If you work in a state with Right to Work protections, you have a right to cut off all payments of dues and fees to the union if you don’t support its activities,” the notice reads. “If you do not work in a state with Right to Work protections, you at least have a right to opt-out of dues payments for union politics, and may be able to avoid other union financial support.”
Foundation Attorneys Have Won Many Cases for Workers Challenging Teamsters Coercion
The Foundation frequently provides free legal assistance to workers who are victims of coercion and even violence from Teamsters militants. Foundation staff attorneys made headlines across the country in 2001, when they won a monetary settlement for UPS employee and former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Rod Carter, a victim of union violence during the 1997 Teamsters union officials’ nationwide strike against UPS.
More recently, Foundation attorneys have aided several groups of workers in voting Teamsters officials out of power at their workplaces. Since 2021, Foundation attorneys have assisted at least five groups of XPO Logistics employees in decertifying unwanted Teamsters unions, including in Miami, FL, where truck drivers voted out the union despite Teamsters officials’ claims that the union’s contract at the Miami facility was a breakthrough.
Also in recent years, Foundation staff attorneys have won a series of victories for UPS workers challenging Teamsters union officials’ attempts to coerce workers into union membership or full dues payments. In one case brought by Foundation attorneys, the National Labor Relations Board ruled Teamsters officials “repeatedly and deliberately” engaged in illegal coercion against UPS workers, and ordered notification of thousands of workers affected by the Teamsters officials’ violations of federal law.
“UPS employees across the country will undoubtedly have very reasonable concerns about whether Teamsters officials’ sweeping strike order is really in workers’ best interests,” commented National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix.
“The fact is Teamsters bosses have a long history of pursuing their own agenda and what advances their interests with respect to internal union politics at all costs, even if it means tossing aside the well-being of the workers they claim to ‘represent,’” Mix continued. “Fortunately, UPS workers seeking to exercise their right to work despite Teamsters bosses’ strike order can turn to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation for free legal assistance.”
“National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys have a well-established track record of winning cases on behalf of workers, especially UPS workers, against Teamsters union bosses’ illegal tactics,” added Mix.
Teen Supermarket Cashier Fired for Refusing to Join and Fund UFCW Union
The following article is from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation’s bi-monthly Foundation Action Newsletter, May/June 2023 edition. To view other editions of Foundation Action or to sign up for a free subscription, click here.
Union officials required teen to violate his religious beliefs or be fired
Josiah Leonatti may be young, but he’s not afraid to stand up to UFCW bosses, who got him fired over objecting to union membership and dues on religious grounds.
PITTSBURGH, PA – Josiah Leonatti, a high schooler, was fired last year for his religious beliefs. Giant Eagle and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union compel employees, like Leonatti, to either join or fund the union to keep their jobs. The problem for Leonatti is that he cannot do so without compromising his religious beliefs.
When Leonatti was hired, he never expected that union bosses would force him to choose between his job and his religious convictions. But the union officials did just that.
With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Leonatti hit UFCW union officials and Giant Eagle in January with federal discrimination charges. Although Giant Eagle rehired Leonatti to limit liability, neither Giant Eagle nor the union agreed to accommodate his religious beliefs. So Leonatti faces discharge, again, unless he funds the union.
Moreover, the union demands that Leonatti submit to an illegal “religion test.” Before the company and union will consider accommodation, they demand that Leonatti answer irrelevant and inappropriate questions to determine whether his religious beliefs are valid.
UFCW Bosses Tried to Get Teen Fired After He Voiced Religious Objections
Foundation attorneys filed charges for Leonatti against the union at both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) based on federal law. Foundation attorneys also filed charges against Leonatti’s employer, Giant Eagle.
Federal law requires unions and employers to accommodate employees who have religious objections to joining or paying dues to a union. And federal law also prohibits forced union membership regardless of a worker’s reason for not wanting to affiliate with a union.
Leonatti’s charges report that he attended employee training last year as a cashier trainee. There, a store manager told new hires that they “must sign papers to join the United Food And Commercial Workers.” According to the NLRB charges, “No other options were even hinted at.”
After reviewing the papers with his family, Leonatti’s charges explain, he mailed a letter to UFCW officials detailing his sincere religious objections to joining and supporting the union. He also presented the same letter in person at training.
Rather than accommodate his religious beliefs as required by law, a company official “dismissed [Leonatti] from training and sent [him] home.” The same official later called Leonatti and told him that union membership is compulsory at Giant Eagle, and admitted the grocery store had terminated him over his refusal to join.
UFCW officials responded to Leonatti’s letter by mail on November 10, 2022, rejecting the written explanation of his religious objection and demanding he “complete its religious examination” before they even considered granting him an accommodation. Even if he passed this “test,” the charges say, union officials threatened that he would still have to pay an amount equal to full UFCW union dues to a charity approved by union bosses. Giant Eagle has not offered a religious accommodation to Leonatti, and the union has not retracted its threats or agreed to accommodate him.
Teen’s Firing Shows Need for Pennsylvania Right to Work Protections
Leonatti’s EEOC charges seek to compel the UFCW union and Giant Eagle to provide him a legally required religious accommodation. In addition, the NLRB charges state that relief must include unitwide notice and corporate training regarding workers’ right to refrain from union membership, among other remedies.
“Union bosses’ attempt to coerce a high school student to violate his religious beliefs is unconscionable and illegal,” commented National Right to Work Foundation Vice President Patrick Semmens. “We’re proud to support Mr. Leonatti as he defends his rights and beliefs. This should serve as a stark reminder that all Americans deserve Right to Work protections.”
“If Pennsylvania were a Right to Work state, Leonatti wouldn’t be forced to present his religious objections to expectedly hostile union chiefs,” Semmens added. “In a Right to Work state, he and other dissenting employees would have a statutorily protected right to cut off dues payments for any reason. All employees deserve the right to choose whether to fund a union.”
Foundation Blasts Biden NLRB’s Proposed Rule to Trap Workers in Unions
The following article is from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation’s bi-monthly Foundation Action Newsletter, May/June 2023 edition. To view other editions of Foundation Action or to sign up for a free subscription, click here.
Former union lawyers target Foundation-backed reforms easing removal of unpopular unions
In its comments to the NLRB, the Foundation emphasized its leading role in defending workers’ right to vote out unwanted unions. Above are just a few workers whom Foundation attorneys have aided recently in decertification efforts.
WASHINGTON, DC – Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that over 90 percent of American workers have chosen not to affiliate with a union, and recent polling by Gallup shows non-union workers are overwhelmingly “not interested at all” in unionization. This isn’t a surprise considering modern day union officials’ overwhelming focus on politics, the way that monopoly “representation” often disadvantages the best employees, and union bosses’ “pay up or be fired” demands leveled at workers in non-Right to Work states, among other reasons.
The National Right to Work Foundation helped create an easier path for employees to vote out union officials they oppose by filing comments in support of the “Election Protection Rule,” which the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adopted in 2020. The Foundation-backed Rule eliminated several non-statutory NLRB policies that union officials manipulate to block any attempt by employees to vote them out of a workplace.
Now, former union lawyers Biden appointed to the NLRB are repaying the President’s union boss political allies by moving to eliminate the Election Protection Rule, thus restoring to union officials several coercive methods used to trap workers in unions they oppose by making it more difficult for employees to successfully petition for a decertification election.
The Foundation slammed the plan in February comments filed with the NLRB, maintaining that the rule change will trample workers’ statutory right to vote out unions they oppose while entrenching unpopular union officials. Foundation attorneys followed up with reply comments in March, which refuted several arguments union officials and Biden’s NLRB General Counsel put forth in comments supporting the Election Protection Rule’s elimination.
Biden NLRB Will Again Let Union Officials Weaponize Unproven ‘Blocking Charges’
The Foundation’s comments explain that, if the Election Protection Rule is tossed, union officials will again be able to exploit often-unproven allegations of employer unlawful behavior to delay employee-requested union decertification votes. Prior to the 2020 reforms, union officials could often stall a decertification vote for months or even years by filing these so-called “blocking charges.”
The 2020 Election Protection Rule overturned the blocking charge policy, so workers are currently allowed in most cases to cast ballots in a decertification vote before the NLRB deals with any allegations surrounding the election. This procedure eliminates the incentive outright deception. Once recognized via this card check process, under the NLRB proposal there will be a year-long non-statutory bar, during which unions are immunized from decertification attempts.
The Election Protection Rule gives employees the opportunity to challenge the union’s claim of majority support during a 45-day window period beginning upon notice of recognition. If workers collect a sufficient showing of interest for an election and file it during the 45-day window, the NLRB will hold an election in that bargaining unit. This provides a check against the most egregious card check campaigns. Barring these worker-submitted union decertification petitions “only shields what may well be a minority union from challenge” and “destroys employees’ [statutory] rights,” the Foundation’s comments say.
Worker Majority Support Doesn’t Matter for Union Elites
The comments also oppose the Biden NLRB’s plan to let union officials subject construction workers to monopoly union so-called “representation” without providing evidence of any individual worker’s support for such control, let alone a majority.
“The move to eliminate the Election Protection Rule will re-impose arbitrary policies that trample workers’ rights and allow union bosses to maintain power despite the overwhelming opposition of rank-and-file workers,” observed National Right to Work Foundation Vice President Patrick Semmens.
“The Biden NLRB, now stocked with former union lawyers, is putting on full display that its priorities lie with top D.C. union brass, not rank-and-file American workers.”
Disney Worker Hits UNITE HERE Union with Federal Charge for Illegal Dues Seizures
The following article is from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation’s bi-monthly Foundation Action Newsletter, May/June 2023 edition. To view other editions of Foundation Action or to sign up for a free subscription, click here.
Union officials ignoring worker’s right under Florida Right to Work law to stop dues payments
Not so magical: Lurking behind Disney World’s cheery exterior are UNITE HERE union officials who apparently don’t respect employees who exercise their right to free themselves from unwanted union membership and dues deductions.
ORLANDO, FL – With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation, a Disney Parks and Resorts employee in Orlando, Florida, has filed federal charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the UNITE HERE Local 362 union, stating that union officials ignored his resignation and dues checkoff revocation letter.
Since 1943, Florida’s Right to Work protections have made union membership and financial support strictly voluntary. However, when Jose Class filed his unfair labor practice charge, UNITE HERE union officials had not acknowledged his unequivocal exercise of his rights to abstain from both.
According to the charge filed in December 2022, Class resigned his union membership and revoked the union’s authorization to deduct dues from his paycheck. That December letter also requested, if union officials did not immediately accept his dues checkoff revocation, that the union, within 14 days of receipt, provide him with a copy of any checkoff he may have signed.
As of the filing of the charge, union officials had not stopped collecting dues from his wages, nor had they provided him with the requested copy of a signed checkoff authorization, which might specify when revocation is allowed.
Long History of Union Bosses Violating Disney World Workers’ Rights
UNITE HERE is not the only union that has violated Disney World workers’ right to stop all dues payments as guaranteed by Florida’s longstanding Right to Work law. In a series of cases brought against Florida-based Teamsters Local 385, Foundation attorneys ultimately won an NLRB decision that Teamsters officials violated workers’ rights by “repeatedly and deliberately” failing to honor the workers’ requests that deduction of union dues from their wages stop.
“In what is an unfortunately familiar story, union officials ignored Mr. Class’ resignation letter and his dues deduction revocation,” commented National Right to Work Foundation Vice President and Legal Director Raymond LaJeunesse.
“No American worker should ever be forced to subsidize union activities, which is why a longstanding priority of the National Right to Work Foundation is assisting workers in exercising their right to cut off financial support for union officials they oppose.
Foundation Slams Biden Labor Board’s Biased Ruling in Federal Appeals Court
The following article is from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation’s bi-monthly Foundation Action Newsletter, May/June 2023 edition. To view other editions of Foundation Action or to sign up for a free subscription, click here.
Brief contends NLRB distorted precedent to trap workers in union they oppose
A majority of J.G. Kern employees petitioned to oust the UAW, which has seen two of its former presidents (Gary Jones, right, and Dennis Williams, left) go to jail for corruption. But a biased NLRB ruling trapped the workers in UAW ranks anyway.
WASHINGTON, DC – Foundation staff attorneys recently filed an amicus brief with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in a case challenging a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision reversing workers’ attempt to remove union “representation” they oppose.
In the case, J.G. Kern employees, frustrated with the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 228 union, decided to petition to decertify, or formally remove, the union from their workplace. The workers presented this majority petition to their employer, leading to the company removing its recognition of the union.
The petition contained overwhelming support from workers in favor of removing the union. Yet, after the company withdrew recognition from the union, UAW officials ran to the Biden Labor Board in an attempt to remain in power. The Biden-appointed NLRB majority sided with the union officials by re-imposing the unpopular union over the workers’ objections.
With the case now in the federal court of appeals, the Foundation filed an amicus brief arguing the NLRB’s April 2022 ruling ignores precedent and misapplies longstanding law in siding with union officials.
Decertification Rules Already Rigged Against Workers Opposed to Union Affiliation
As the brief points out, workers looking to file a petition to remove a union they oppose already face numerous hurdles due to NLRB rules, most of which are contained nowhere in the federal statute the NLRB is charged with enforcing.
For example, a petition must be gathered outside of work hours, and outside of work-related areas. Also, unless employees use certain Board-specified language in their petition, the petition is invalid. Furthermore, employees cannot ask their employer for further information regarding the decertification process or the petition will be invalid.
The Foundation’s brief observes how workers must operate “in the dark, without help from their employer, and even if they do everything right, their efforts might come to naught through no fault of their own.” It also shows how the Biden Board has made it more difficult for individual workers to express their right to decertify unwanted, unpopular unions.
Biden NLRB Aims to Force Union on Workers Who Overwhelmingly Object
Under the Board’s “certification bar” doctrine, a union that wins a secret ballot election cannot be challenged for one year after its victory is certified by the NLRB. In this case, the UAW’s certification bar ended on October 3, 2019. In November 2019, J.G. Kern employees delivered a majority-backed petition to their employer.
The Biden Board claimed, however, that because J.G. Kern did not bargain in good faith during a three-month period at the beginning of the certification year, the employees’ majority petition was invalid. According to the Biden Board, the employer’s alleged unfair labor practices prospectively “extended” the certification year beyond its normal 12-month period.
The brief highlights the disingenuousness of the Board, pointing out that “the employees would have to divine the future to know they were collecting a petition during the ‘extended certification year.’” The Foundation urges the D.C. Circuit to command the Board to follow precedent that requires the Board to determine whether there was a “nexus” between the employer’s unfair labor practices and the decertification petition.
NLRB’s Power Grab Takes Away Workers’ Rights
The Foundation’s brief emphasizes how the Board’s decision can abolish employees’ rights guaranteed by the National Labor Relations Act. An example of that is the J.G. Kern workers’ petition, where it was only after the petition was gathered that the Board extended the union’s certification bar period.
The brief notes that usually “an employee’s decertification petition is presumptively valid unless there is a causal nexus between the unfair labor practice and the petition.” However, this is not the case under the J.G. Kern ruling.
Should the NLRB’s ruling be upheld, it “will further incentivize incumbent unions to file unfair labor practice charges to chill employees’ Section 7 ability to collect petitions,” the brief concludes.
“The NLRB’s blatant disregard for the rights of workers who don’t want anything to do with coercive unionism is on full display in this case,” commented Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The arbitrary cherry-picking of legal precedents to fit the Board’s agenda is outrageous, while expected, given the Biden Administration’s all-out effort to expand Big Labor’s coercive ranks.
UPS Seasonal Worker Receives $0 Paycheck After Company Illegally Seizes Dues for Teamster Union
Stockton, CA (February 4, 2015) – A former seasonal United Parcel Service (UPS) employee has filed a federal charge against the company after it illegally confiscated Teamster union dues from his salary, leaving him with a paycheck of $0.
With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Santiago Olmos filed the unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Shortly after Olmos was hired as a seasonal employee for the Christmas delivery rush, he attended UPS training on December 8, 2014. At the meeting, a UPS manager told all of the employees in attendance that they were required to join the Teamster Local 439 union and pay union dues.
Under federal labor law, workers have the right to refrain from formal union membership and full union dues payments. Because California does not have Right to Work protections for workers, nonmember workers can be forced to pay a part of union dues and fees or be fired from their job.
However, under federal labor law, a worker may only be compelled to pay union dues or fees after 30 days of actual employment, a so-called “grace period.” Moreover, union dues and fees may only be deducted from wages after a worker has filled out a union dues deduction authorization – a form union officials use to authorize employers to automatically withhold union dues from employee paychecks.
Olmos only worked for UPS from December 8 to December 24, did not join the union, and did not sign a dues deduction authorization. UPS nonetheless deducted full union dues from his wages. As a result, Olmos’ first paycheck was for $0.
“UPS forced this worker to work effectively for free just before the Christmas holiday,” said Mark Mix, president of National Right to Work. “This case demonstrates that California desperately needs a Right to Work law, which would make union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary.”
“Only then will California’s workers truly get to work to be paid and not have to pay in order to work,” added Mix.
Twenty-four states have Right to Work protections for employees. Public polling shows that nearly 80 percent of Americans and union members support the Right to Work principle of voluntary unionism.
Special Legal Notice for Employees of Wabtec Impacted by UE Union Boss Strike Order
News reports suggest that union officials of United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) union have ordered employees of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (Wabtec) to abandon their jobs and go on strike. This situation raises serious concerns for employees who believe there is much to lose from a union-ordered strike.
All employees have the legal right to rebuff union officials’ strike demands, but it is important that employees know their rights before they do so. If you would like to work during a strike, read all of this special notice before returning to work – it might save you thousands of dollars.
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation believes you should learn about your legal rights from independent sources. You should not rely on what self-interested union officials tell you. Workers frequently contact the Foundation to learn how to avoid fines and other union discipline for continuing to report to work during a union ordered strike to support themselves and their families. For over five decades, Foundation attorneys have worked to protect and expand the rights of individual employees to reject unwanted union control. It is the nation’s premier organization exclusively dedicated to providing free legal assistance to employee who are victims of forced unionism abuse.
Wabtec employees should know they have the following legal rights:
1) You have the right to resign your membership in the union at any time. If you don’t support this union, you can send the union a letter resigning your membership.
2) You have the right to go to work even if the union bosses ordered a strike. Union officials can (and often do) fine actual union members who work during a strike. If you want to work during a union strike, you should seriously consider resigning before working. This is the principal way to put yourself beyond the reach of internal union discipline, and avoid these union fines.
3) You also have the right to revoke your dues check-off authorization and stop allowing the union hierarchy to collect money from your paycheck every week. You can send letters to the union and your employer revoking your authorization to have union dues deducted from your paycheck during periods when there is no collective bargaining agreement in effect.
4) If you wish to eject an unaccountable union hierarchy from your workplace, you have the right to circulate and sign a decertification petition to obtain a secret ballot election to do so. All Wabtec employees should know they have the right to petition the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a secret ballot election to remove a union. However, the NLRB process is complex and open to manipulation from union officials, so we strongly recommend you reach out to Foundation attorneys, who regularly provide free legal advice and representation to workers interested in decertifying a union.
A sample letter for employees who wish to resign their union membership and revoke their dues check-off is here.
We know you are busy, and we know that unionization can create tension within a workplace and a lot of confusion regarding your legal rights. If you have any questions about the rights listed above or any of your other rights, do not hesitate to contact Foundation staff attorneys for free legal help at 1-800-336-3600 or at https://nrtw.org/free-legal-aid/.
National Right to Work Foundation Issues Legal Notice to Wabtec Locomotive Manufactures Facing Union-Ordered Strike
Workers have legal protections if they choose to work to support their families during union-ordered strikes
Erie, PA (June 29, 2023) – Today, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation issued a special legal notice to locomotive manufacturing employees at Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (Wabtec). The notice informs Wabtec employees of their individual rights during the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) union-ordered strike currently taking place.
The legal notice is available at the Foundation’s website: https://nrtw.org/wabtec
The National Right to Work Foundation is the nation’s premier organization dedicated to defending workers whose rights have been violated by forced unionism abuses. “The Foundation wants you to learn about your legal rights from independent sources,” the notice says. “You should not rely on what self-interested union officials tell you.”
The Foundation’s notice informs workers who are union members of their right to resign from union membership at any time. The notice also suggests, if employees who are currently union members wish to work during the strike and avoid union discipline such as fines, they should resign their union membership before returning to work.
The legal notice informs Wabtec employees they “have the right to revoke [their] dues check-off authorization and stop allowing the union hierarchy to collect money from [their] paycheck every week. [They] can send letters to the union and [their] employer revoking [their] authorization to have union dues deducted from [their] paycheck during periods when there is no collective bargaining agreement in effect.”
“Decades of experience assisting workers has shown us that all too often strikes are about protecting the power of union bosses and not what is really best for rank-and-file workers,” commented National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix. “Unfortunately union misinformation and intimidation tactics are all too common during union boss-ordered strikes, which is why Wabtec employees must be on alert and should immediately contact the Foundation for free legal aid if they believe union officials may be violating their legal rights.”
National Right to Work Foundation Attorney Testifies Before Congress, Spotlighting NLRB Push for Coercive ‘Card Check’
Experienced worker attorney blasts NLRB effort to rewrite the law to eliminate secret ballot votes & trap workers in unions they oppose
Washington, D.C. (May 23, 2023) – Today, National Right to Work Foundation staff attorney Aaron Solem will testify in front of the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions chaired by Representative Bob Good. Solem’s testimony will highlight the growing issues with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and how the current NLRB and NLRB General Counsel are undermining the rights of workers in order to grant union bosses more coercive power.
Solem’s testimony emphasizes a growing number of NLRB failures to protect employees’ rights in the workplace, including General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo’s plan to eliminate secret ballot elections and mandate unionization based on coercive “card check.” Solem’s testimony also blasts the NLRB for attempting to repeal restrictions which make it easier for union officials to file “blocking charges,” which can delay or block decertification elections no matter how many workers have signed a petition requesting a vote and opposes the union’s so-called “representation”:
“NLRB General Counsel Abruzzo, the Biden-appointed majority on the NLRB, and even some in this Congress are attempting to undermine employee free choice by ending or limiting the secret ballot. General Counsel Abruzzo is seeking to virtually end secret ballot elections and mandate unreliable, undemocratic union card checks as the primary method of union selection. The Board is also making it harder to oust a minority union by bringing back the disreputed and heavily criticized ‘blocking charge’ policy. This policy will make it harder for individual employees to decertify unwanted unions through secret ballot elections, even if 100% of the employees no longer wish to be represented.”
After highlighting the egregious dissolution of employee rights happening under Abruzzo and the Biden Administration, Solem suggested some reforms Congress could make to strengthen the freedoms of rank-and-file workers, including those he represents in cases before the NLRB:
“Rather than ratify the Board and General Counsel’s attempts to undermine secret ballot elections and entrench unpopular unions, this Committee should look to other solutions. Those solutions should grant employees more choices—ideally, the choice not to be forced to pay dues to a union. At the very least, the solution should guarantee employees a right to vote in a secret ballot election. These are far better solutions than the divisive policies being pursued by the Biden Administration and its politically-motivated appointees to the Board.”
Solem testified alongside former NLRB Member Phil Miscimarra, small business owner Cecil Leedy, and forced union dues-funded CWA lawyer Angela Thompson.
“Union bosses should not be given the power to force workers under their so-called ‘representation’ without even a secret ballot election,” observed National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “More scrutiny is needed of the Biden NLRB, which time after time seems to be acting like taxpayer-funded organizing for Big Labor, rather than a neutral arbiter of a law that is supposed to protect the legal rights of workers who are opposed to unionization.”
Video: The Anniversary of the Janus Supreme Court Victory and the Ongoing Fight for Worker Freedom
On the 5th Anniversary of the landmark First Amendment decision, Foundation President discusses Janus, the cases that led to the decision, and the path forward
Springfield, VA (June 27, 2023) – National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix released a video statement on the 5-year anniversary of the landmark Janus v. AFSCME U.S. Supreme Court decision. The case, which affirmed the First Amendment right of all public employees to get or keep a job without being forced to pay union dues or fees, was successfully argued at the Supreme Court by National Right to Work Foundation Legal Director William Messenger.
The Janus anniversary video is available here.
In the video, Mix discusses the cases that led to Janus, the importance of the 2018 decision, and next steps for the Foundation regarding workers’ freedom from coercive unionism. Mix notes in the statement that “while the Janus ruling is clear, unfortunately, though predictably, we’ve seen widespread attempts by government union bosses to subvert the ruling and implement schemes to block government employees from exercising their First Amendment rights. In response, Foundation staff attorneys have already filed over 50 cases to enforce the Janus decision, directly helping over 70,000 workers so far.”
He also looks at how Foundation is building on the 2018 Supreme Court victory: “Janus introduced a new wave of Foundation litigation enforcing the decision against union bosses who refuse to accept its limits, and launching new cases, like the Goldstein case, seeking to expand the First Amendment rights of workers opposed to forced unionization.”
Mix concludes by noting that Public employees or any worker who needs legal assistance in enforcing their rights against coercive unionism can contact the Foundation to request free legal aid: https://nrtw.org/free-legal-aid/.
