Over at the Times Herald’s opinion section, another union boss whined about the growing Right to Work movement in Michigan. The ex construction union chief had this to say:

“If Michigan becomes a right-to-work state, you might as well pack your bags and leave it.”

The problem is (as we have repeatedly reported here) Michiganders are already leaving the state – precisely because of Big Labor’s forced unionism stranglehold. The lack of a Right to Work law has not only deprived employees of their freedom of association, but it has also contributed to Michigan’s skyrocketing unemployment levels and heavy taxes.

Right to Work laws guarantee that no person can be compelled, as a condition of employment, to join or not to join, nor to pay dues to a labor union. It’s no wonder Michiganders are packing their bags for Right to Work states.

Let’s hope that this situation changes before the state’s economy collapses.

Here’s a new video from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix thanking supporters for helping the Foundation fight compulsory unionism online by creating cutting edge video content in its new in-house production studio.

In a disturbing move that further underscores the Bush administration’s mismanagement of the National Labor Relations Board, NLRB General Counsel Ronald Meisburg has inexplicably added activist Democrat Dennis Walsh to his staff in recent days. Walsh is a militant union-boss partisan who had just vacated an expired recess appointment to the five member NLRB — a recess appointment that he should never have received from President Bush in the first place. Rather than receiving a make-work job within the bureaucracy while he pines away for yet another Board seat, Walsh should instead return to private employment. As a voting member, Walsh had worked to undermine employee free choice and to empower union bosses to coerce workers into union ranks. It’s outrageous that he would be rewarded with a new post at Bush’s NLRB.

The Denver Post published an article earlier this week featuring the NRTW Foundation’s work on behalf of state employees in Washington in 2006, including Patricia Woodward. Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) union officials ordered Ms. Woodward fired for refusal to pay dues. In the Post article, her niece, Darla Branif, called the imposition of forced dues on Washington state employees a "dirty deal."

In 2006 WFSE spokesman Tim Welch told dissenting employees exactly what he thought when asked by a local newspaper:

"You can choose to be a member of the union, you can choose to pay a fee. But ultimately, if you don’t like that, you can choose to be unemployed."

Sadly, with no Right to Work law in place in Washington, Welch is right. However, employees in Washington did fight back with the Foundation’s help. Watch Patricia Woodward’s statement at a related press conference below.

The following movie clip is actual FBI undercover footage of a United Transportation Union (UTU) bagman accepting a cash bribe on behalf of the union’s president.
The footage underscores why the National Right to Work Foundation is leading the fight to free America’s workers from forced unionism, and how compulsory unionism and corruption go hand-in-hand.

Following up on last week’s post, Stan Greer of the National Institute for Labor Relations Research spoke out last week against a recent executive order in Colorado extending union monopoly bargaining over state employees. (NRTW Foundation Vice President and Legal Director Raymond J. LaJeunesse, Jr. spoke at the event.)

According to an article in the Denver Business Journal:

Greer also said that even if legislators approve a law prohibiting
government workers from striking — and Ritter signs it — 48 percent
of public sector strikes are technically illegal, meaning that
legislation is not an effective deterrent against strikes.

"By all economic measures, Colorado would be better off without
forced dues and fees and everyone would be better off with right to
work laws."

How true- if strike prohibitions work, how did union officials shut down New York City just before Christmas in 2005″ They didn’t seem to mind the illegality of that strike. The imposition of forced union dues has also prompted state employees in Washington and Maine to fight back.

Since last spring, United Auto Workers (UAW) union officials have had Foxwoods Resort Casino workers in its sights. Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation runs Foxwoods Resort Casino, which happens to be one of the most successful casinos in the world.

Following an election held in November, Foxwoods filed unfair labor practices at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—citing a whopping 12 objections to the UAW union’s organizing tactics.

TheDay.com has the story:

The tribe also questioned why the ballots were not multilingual and alleged that UAW representatives harassed and intimidated eligible voters before the election.

Sadly, it’s all too common for union organizers to mislead or even harass employees during a unionization drive.

With the charges, the NLRB began its hearings over the dispute yesterday. A casino employee described the UAW union’s threatening tactics:

…one dealer…“was chased by car out of the employee parking lot and almost forced into a concrete barrier.”

The outcome of the NLRB hearing could have national implications, as union officials could be granted monopoly bargaining privileges over the largest tribal casino in the nation—leaving the door open for the UAW union (and others) to sink their teeth in at other tribal casinos.

The National Right to Work Foundation just filed a "friend of the court" brief supporting employee free choice at the U.S. Supreme Court in the Chamber v. Brown case. At issue is a controversial 9th Circuit decision that basically forces coercive union organizing on private companies receiving state funds.

Foundation attorneys have successfully helped contest similiar laws in Wisconsin, and through this brief in New York. Additionally, with 13 trips to the U.S. Supreme Court on record, most recently the 2007 Davenport defensive victory, Foundation attorneys are no strangers to the highest court in the land.

A Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial today highlights the importance of the National Right to Work Foundation’s Beck U.S. Supreme Court victory.

Unfortunately, union officials commonly ignore and violate that principle, as borne out by the number of Beck enforcement cases the Foundation has. However, the article recognizes that as a Right to Work state, employees can go beyond cutting off union dues for politics.

With union officials in this context squabbling over which candidate to support, employees in Nevada deserve to know that they can not only cut off their dues going towards union political activities- they are free to pay none at all.

Montana timber trucker Michael Weller, who received free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, won an agreement that requires Teamsters Local 2 union officials to reimburse him all forced dues and initiation fees, plus interest.

The Associated Press reported:

Weller said he paid the [forced dues] charges out of fear of losing his job, and sought financial disclosure documents from the union to determine if he was paying the correct amount.

However, even though it was an encouraging victory for Weller, without a Right to Work law in Montana, there are countless more workers who are forced to pay hundreds of dollars to an unwanted union each year or lose their jobs.

The Daily Inter Lake and the Flathead Beacon also covered Weller’s victory.