Right to Work Foundation Announces Offer of Free Legal Aid to Chattanooga Volkswagen Employees

Union and company are reportedly colluding to force workers into union ranks

Springfield, VA (April 1, 2013) – Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation, has issued the following statement in response to recent media reports that United Auto Worker (UAW) union and Volkswagen AG (VOW.DE) officials are in talks to unionize the VW workers at the Chattanooga, Tennessee plant:

"Recent media reports suggest that UAW union officials are working to negotiate the workplace conditions of Volkswagen’s Chattanooga employees even though the workers are not represented by the UAW union hierarchy.

"The National Right to Work Foundation has seen again and again the UAW union hierarchy pressure companies to cut backroom deals designed to push workers into union ranks whether the employees like it or not. For example, UAW officials vetoed pay increases and secretly pre-negotiated bargaining concessions at the expense of Freightliner workers in North and South Carolina in exchange for company assistance in unionizing the workers.

Click here to read the full release.

Additional Caterpillar Workers File Federal Charges Against Machinist Union Hierarchy for Strike Fines

Union officials demand hundreds of thousands of dollars in strike fines from workers

Chicago, IL (April 1, 2013) – In the wake of last summer’s Machinists union boss-instigated strike against Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), 24 more Caterpillar workers have filed federal charges against a local Machinists union for violating their rights and levying retaliatory strike fines against them after they continued to work during the strike.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, the 24 workers filed their charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Chicago. Foundation attorneys anticipate more charges will be filed for other Caterpillar workers at the facility.

On May 1, 2012, International Association of Machinists (IAM) District Lodge 851 union bosses ordered all of the over 800 Rockdale Caterpillar workers on strike. The 24 workers were among the over hundred workers who worked despite the IAM union boss demands.

Under federal law, workers who are not voluntary union members are exempt from the union hierarchy’s constitution and bylaws and thus cannot be disciplined for continuing to work during a union boss-ordered strike.

However, IAM Local 851 union bosses recently levied fines totaling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars against the workers for continuing to work during the strike.

Click here to read the full release.

Chicago, IL (April 1, 2013) – In the wake of last summer’s Machinists union boss-instigated strike against Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), 24 more Caterpillar workers have filed federal charges against a local Machinists union for violating their rights and levying retaliatory strike fines against them after they continued to work during the strike.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, the 24 workers filed their charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Chicago. Foundation attorneys anticipate more charges will be filed for other Caterpillar workers at the facility.

On May 1, 2012, International Association of Machinists (IAM) District Lodge 851 union bosses ordered all of the over 800 Rockdale Caterpillar workers on strike. The 24 workers were among the over hundred workers who worked despite the IAM union boss demands.

Under federal law, workers who are not voluntary union members are exempt from the union hierarchy’s constitution and bylaws and thus cannot be disciplined for continuing to work during a union boss-ordered strike.

However, IAM Local 851 union bosses recently levied fines totaling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars against the workers for continuing to work during the strike.

Some of the workers allege that they were never truly voluntary union members because IAM Lodge 851 union officials never informed them of their right to refrain from union membership. Some workers resigned union membership before returning to work and others have additional defenses to the union officials’ outrageous demands of retaliatory strike fines.

Some of the workers allege that union officials (including the union’s president) even gave them implicit permission that it was acceptable to go back to work to continue to support their families. Another worker alleges that union militants physically assaulted his wife and child and the union hierarchy has collected twice the normal amount of union dues from his paycheck.

“IAM union bosses are trying to intimidate and punish workers who had the temerity not to toe the union boss line,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Workers should never be forced to abandon their jobs and be denied their right to provide for themselves and their families at the whim of militant union bosses.”

Springfield, VA (April 1, 2013) – Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation, has issued the following statement in response to recent media reports that United Auto Worker (UAW) union and Volkswagen AG (VOW.DE) officials are in talks to unionize the VW workers at the Chattanooga, Tennessee plant:

"Recent media reports suggest that UAW union officials are working to negotiate the workplace conditions of Volkswagen’s Chattanooga employees even though the workers are not represented by the UAW union hierarchy.

"The National Right to Work Foundation has seen again and again the UAW union hierarchy pressure companies to cut backroom deals designed to push workers into union ranks whether the employees like it or not. For example, UAW officials vetoed pay increases and secretly pre-negotiated bargaining concessions at the expense of Freightliner workers in North and South Carolina in exchange for company assistance in unionizing the workers.

"Whenever UAW union officials have brokered secret agreements with companies, history shows that workers often end up with a raw deal. Volkswagen workers may suffer the same fate.

"National Right to Work attorneys have assisted workers across the country who have suffered the consequences of these top-down organizing campaign designed by UAW union officials.

"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."

New Michigan Right to Work Laws Take Effect Today

National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation offers free legal aid to workers seeking to exercise their rights under Michigan’s Right to Work protections

Springfield, VA (March 28, 2013) – In response to Michigan’s Right to Work laws taking effect today, Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation, issued the following statement:

"No worker should ever be forced to join or pay dues to a union as a condition of their employment. That is why Michigan’s new Right to Work laws are great advances for worker freedom. Today, workers in Michigan finally have Right to Work protections.

Click here to read the full release.

Springfield, VA (March 28, 2013) – In response to Michigan’s Right to Work laws taking effect today, Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation, issued the following statement:

"No worker should ever be forced to join or pay dues to a union as a condition of their employment. That is why Michigan’s new Right to Work laws are great advances for worker freedom. Today, workers in Michigan finally have Right to Work protections.

"In response to recent media reports about union officials seeking to skirt Michigan’s new Right to Work laws, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a charitable organization that provides free legal assistance to employees nationwide, has created a special task force to defend workers seeking to exercise their Right to Work.

"Affected employees are encouraged to call the Foundation’s legal hotline at 1-800-336-3600 or contact the Foundation through its website at www.nrtw.org.

"Any worker who wants to learn more about their rights under Michigan’s Right to Work laws should also visit the Foundation’s award-winning website."

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.

Kansas City Police Officers Seek to Handcuff Union’s Forced-Dues Scheme

Right to Work Foundation attorneys challenge union hierarchy for violating employees’ constitutional rights

Kansas City, MO (March 27, 2013) – Seventeen Missouri police officers have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against a local police union, the Board of Police Commissions of Kansas City, and the mayor of Kansas City for violating their rights.

The 17 officers filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

In October of 2012, Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 99 union officials agreed to a settlement in a lawsuit between the union and the city in which union officials made concessions on police officers’ wages, benefits, and retirement age in exchange for the power to force nonmember police officers into paying forced union dues and fees as a condition of their employment.

Click here to read the full release.

Kansas City, MO (March 27, 2013) – Seventeen Missouri police officers have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against a local police union, the Board of Police Commissions of Kansas City, and the mayor of Kansas City for violating their rights.

The 17 officers filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

In October of 2012, Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 99 union officials agreed to a settlement in a lawsuit between the union and the city in which union officials made concessions on police officers’ wages, benefits, and retirement age in exchange for the power to force nonmember police officers into paying forced union dues and fees as a condition of their employment.

The 17 officers, who all refrain from formal union membership in the FOP Lodge 99 union, allege that the union hierarchy violated its duty of fair representation and acted in bad faith by selling out Kansas City’s police officers in exchange for the forced dues powers.

Further, the 17 nonmember officers allege in their suit that the FOP Lodge 99 union hierarchy is violating their constitutional rights by demanding forced union dues and fees from them without following federal disclosure requirements.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Foundation’s Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson case that union officials must first provide nonmember public workers with an independently-audited breakdown of all forced-dues union expenditures and the opportunity to object and challenge the amount of forced union fees before an impartial decision maker. This minimal safeguard is designed to ensure that workers have an opportunity to refrain from paying for union political activities and member-only events.

In February, FOP Lodge 99 union officials began demanding forced union dues and fees from nonmember police officers while refusing to provide an audited breakdown of union expenditures or giving the officers an opportunity to challenge the forced union fees before an independent third party.

“Because Missouri does not have a Right to Work law, these Kansas City police officers can be compelled to pay union dues and fees to a union hierarchy that clearly does not have the officers’ best interests at heart,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “This case underscores why Missouri needs a Right to Work law making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary.”

Local School Bus Drivers Slam the Brakes on Union Boss Rights Violations

Union officials threatened bus drivers: Join the union or be fired

Gresham, OR (March 25, 2013) – A group of local school bus drivers have won a federal settlement including back pay from a local union hierarchy after union officials illegally demanded they join the union or be fired.

The settlement stems from a federal charge six of the drivers filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Regional Office in Seattle with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

Oregon School Employees Association, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 6732 union officials demanded that all drivers join the union and pay full union dues or face discharge.

Click here to read the full release.

Gresham, OR (March 25, 2013) – A group of local school bus drivers have won a federal settlement including back pay from a local union hierarchy after union officials illegally demanded they join the union or be fired.

The settlement stems from a federal charge six of the drivers filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Regional Office in Seattle with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

Oregon School Employees Association, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 6732 union officials demanded that all drivers join the union and pay full union dues or face discharge.

Because Oregon does not have Right to Work protections making union affiliation completely voluntary, the bus drivers can still be forced to pay part of forced union dues to keep their jobs. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has long held that workers have the right to refrain from full-dues-paying union membership, and nonmember workers cannot be required to pay union dues or fees spent for union political activities and member-only events.

AFT Local 6732 union officials confiscated full union dues from the drivers’ paychecks without informing the workers of their right to refrain from formal union membership. Union officials continued to confiscate full union dues from both drivers who refused to join the union and drivers who joined the union with objections because they thought they had no choice.

After the six drivers represented by Foundation attorneys filed the federal charge, union officials were forced to settle the case and also agreed to refund back pay to four other drivers.

“AFT Local 6732 union officials made a mockery of federal law in order to keep their forced dues gravy train going,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “This case underscores the need for Oregon to pass state Right to Work protections for its workers.”

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