Albuquerque, NM (June 26, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a public defender from the Alamogordo office of the New Mexico Public Defender Department has filed a charge against a local union for wrongfully charging her with failure to pay union dues for the past five years.

Nancy Fleming filed the charge with the New Mexico Public Employee Labor Relations Board against American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) New Mexico Council 18 union for illegally trying to confiscate forced union dues payments from her paycheck without notifying her that she was in the union’s monopoly bargaining unit and refusing to follow federal disclosure requirements.

Fleming was unaware that AFSCME Council 18 union officials’ claimed to “represent” her and was never asked if she wanted to be a member or pay union dues or fees to the union. However, Fleming began to receive notices earlier this year from a collection agency stating that the union reported her delinquent in paying union dues or fees dating back to 2006.

Because New Mexico does not have Right to Work protections making union affiliation completely voluntary, workers who refrain from formal union membership may still be forced to pay part of union dues to keep their jobs. However, federal case law requires union officials to inform nonmember workers of where their union dues are being spent.

In New Mexico, union officials often report workers who do not make union dues payments to a collection agency, opening the door for unsuspecting workers to find themselves being harassed by a collection agency for payment of union dues when they did not even know their workplace was unionized.

“AFSCME union bosses are charging an unsuspecting worker for ‘representation’ she did not even know existed until a collection agency harassed her for delinquent payments,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “Thanks to biased federal and state laws, union officials are the only private individuals who can claim to ‘represent’ someone and then demand payment from them – but union officials must at least inform workers of their rights before they do so.”

“To prevent these types of forced unionism abuses in the future, New Mexico desperately needs to pass a Right to Work law making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary,” added Mix.

Twenty-three states have Right to Work protections for workers. Recent public polling shows that nearly 80 percent of Americans and 80 percent of union members support the Right to Work principle of voluntary unionism.

Supreme Court Strikes Down SEIU Scheme to Force CA Nonunion State Employees to Fund Union Politics

National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys close union boss political fundraising loophole, winning again at U.S. Supreme Court

Washington, DC (June 21, 2012) – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 today, siding with nonmember California state employees challenging a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) political fee charged to them without notice and opportunity to opt out.

The case concludes a prolonged legal challenge affecting some 36,000 California government employees initiated by eight California civil servants who filed a class-action lawsuit with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

In 2005, SEIU officials imposed a “special assessment” to raise money from all state employees forced to accept union representation as a job condition for a union political fund, regardless of their membership status. The fund was used to defeat four ballot proposals, including one that would have revoked public employee unions’ special privilege of using forced fees for politics unless an employee consents. Employees who refrained from union membership were given no chance to opt out of paying the SEIU’s political assessment.

Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work, issued the following statement regarding today’s ruling:

“Today, the United States Supreme Court upheld workers’ First Amendment rights and struck down another union boss scheme to confiscate and spend state workers’ hard earned money for politics without their permission.”

Click here to read the full release.

Washington, DC (June 21, 2012) – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 today, siding with nonmember California state employees challenging a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) political fee charged to them without notice and opportunity to opt out.

The case concludes a prolonged legal challenge affecting some 36,000 California government employees initiated by eight California civil servants who filed a class-action lawsuit with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

In 2005, SEIU officials imposed a “special assessment” to raise money from all state employees forced to accept union representation as a job condition for a union political fund, regardless of their membership status. The fund was used to defeat four ballot proposals, including one that would have revoked public employee unions’ special privilege of using forced fees for politics unless an employee consents. Employees who refrained from union membership were given no chance to opt out of paying the SEIU’s political assessment.

Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work, issued the following statement regarding today’s ruling:

“Today, the United States Supreme Court upheld workers’ First Amendment rights and struck down another union boss scheme to confiscate and spend state workers’ hard earned money for politics without their permission.

“Attorneys from the National Right to Work Foundation – the nation’s leading advocate for workers who suffer from the abuses of compulsory unionism – argued, and the Court agreed, that the workers should not be forced to subsidize union officials’ political spending, even for a short period of time.

“The Court closed a giant loophole that allowed union bosses to confiscate money from workers’ paychecks for political spending sprees – and sent a message to union officials, once again, that forced political conformity is unconstitutional.”

For more information on the case, please visit the National Right to Work Foundation’s Knox Supreme Court case page at https://www.nrtw.org/en/knox/.

Los Angeles, CA (June 20, 2012) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, three Los Angeles Times printing press employees have reached a settlement with the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 140-N after union officials attempted to force them to join the union and pay full union dues.

Leon Carey, Jr., Richard Hernandez, and James Clayton filed their unfair labor practice charges against the Teamsters last January when union officials told them to join the union and pay full dues or be fired. Carey also filed unfair labor practice charges against the Teamsters in 2009 after union lawyers sued him because he wasn’t a full dues-paying union member.

Because California lacks a Right to Work law, employees can be compelled to pay fees to a union as a condition of employment. The Los Angeles Times and Teamsters Local 140-N are party to a contract that purports to require all printing press workers to become full dues-paying union members. However, Supreme Court precedent guarantees that employees have the right to refrain from union membership and the right to opt out of paying for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as members-only events and political lobbying.

According to the settlement’s terms, Teamster officials must respect employees’ rights to refrain from union membership and opt out of paying full dues, cease levying discriminatory initiation fees, disclose their expenditures to allow nonunion employees to determine what they’re obligated to pay, and remove a union policy that requires employees to annually renew their objections to paying full union dues.

“After multiple unfair labor practice charges, Teamster bosses will finally have to stop coercing independent-minded workers into joining their union and paying full dues,” said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation.

“Unfortunately, employees like Leon Carey, Jr., Richard Hernandez, and James Clayton will still be forced to send part of their hard-earned salaries to the same union officials who disregarded their rights. That’s why California desperately needs a Right to Work law, which would make dues payment and union membership strictly voluntary.”

Suffolk County, NY (June 18, 2012) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a local teacher has filed a lawsuit in state supreme court against two unions for refusing to tell her what they did with union dues that were supposed to have been sent to charities.

Maureen Stavrakoglou is employed by the Brentwood School District, which requires all teachers to pay dues to the Brentwood Teachers Association (BTA) union and its state affiliate, the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) union, as a condition of employment. However, teachers with sincere religious objections to supporting a union are entitled to request that their union dues be redirected to a mutually agreed upon charity.

In 2005, the BTA and NYSUT unions came to an agreement with Stavrakoglou that redirected all of her NYSUT dues to charity. After the agreement was finalized, Stavrakoglou asked union officials to redirect her dues for 2007-2008 to the Make a Wish Foundation. The BTA’s president subsequently assured Stavrakoglou that the dues would be sent to the charity she designated.

Stavrakoglou has since designated several new charities for her union dues. However, two of the charities she chose – The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation – have no record of ever receiving a donation from the union under Stavrakoglou’s name. A third charity, The NYC Firefighters’ Burn Foundation, only received Stavrakoglou’s donation after she called union officials to inquire about the status of her dues. The donation was made over half a year after it was supposed to have been done.

Stavrakoglou’s lawsuit seeks an account of how her union dues were spent and the immediate payment of any illegally-confiscated dues to the charities she designated. She also seeks punitive damages from the BTA and the NYSUT unions.

“After telling Maureen Stavrakoglou they’d respect her religious objections and redirect her dues to charity, teacher union bosses appear to have brazenly ignored her wishes,” said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Cases like this demonstrate the need for a New York Right to Work law, which would make union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary.”

Union Officials at Central Michigan University Face State Prosecution for Illegal Dues Seizures

Union officials violate CMU instructor’s Free Speech rights; case shows need for state Right to Work law

Lansing, MI (June 11, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a temporary instructor at Central Michigan University (CMU) has spurred a state prosecution against a local union for violating her First Amendment rights.

Nancy Rusch of St. Louis, filed a charge with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) against the Union of Teaching Faculty (UTF) union for illegally confiscating union dues payments from her and her coworkers’ paychecks without following federal requirements.

Read the entire release here.

Lansing, MI (June 11, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a temporary instructor at Central Michigan University (CMU) has spurred a state prosecution against a local union for violating her First Amendment rights.

Nancy Rusch of St. Louis, filed a charge with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) against the Union of Teaching Faculty (UTF) union for illegally confiscating union dues payments from her and her coworkers’ paychecks without following federal requirements.

Because Michigan does not have Right to Work protections making union affiliation completely voluntary, Rusch, who has refrained from formal union membership, is still forced to pay part of forced union dues to keep her job at the university. However, she is not required to pay union dues or fees for union boss political activities, lobbying, and member-only events.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Foundation’s Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson victory that union officials must provide public workers with an independently-audited financial breakdown of all forced-dues union expenditures. This procedural safeguard helps inform workers of where their forced union dues and fees are being spent and makes it a little less difficult for workers to hold union officials accountable.

Rusch filed her charge with MERC in mid-April. MERC investigated the charge and issued a complaint against the UTF union last week. A hearing is scheduled for later this summer.

“Union bosses are deliberately keeping rank-and-file workers in the dark to keep their forced-dues gravy train going,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “To prevent these types of forced unionism abuses in the future, Michigan needs to pass a Right to Work law making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary.”

Twenty-three states have Right to Work protections for workers. Recent public polling shows that 80 percent of Americans and 80 percent of union members support the Right to Work principle of voluntary unionism.

Teamster Union Faces Federal Charge For Illegally Using Forced Dues for Politics

Union officials violate worker’s rights; case shows need for state Right to Work law

Minneapolis, MN (June 11, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a New Brighton Ford journeyman technician has filed a federal charge against a local Teamster union for violating his rights.

Dylan McHenry of Hammond, Wisconsin filed the charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Minneapolis against the Teamsters Local 974 union for illegally confiscating union dues payments from his paychecks for political activism and refusing to follow federal disclosure requirements.

Read the entire release here.

Minneapolis, MN (June 11, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a New Brighton Ford journeyman technician has filed a federal charge against a local Teamster union for violating his rights.

Dylan McHenry of Hammond, Wisconsin filed the charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Minneapolis against the Teamsters Local 974 union for illegally confiscating union dues payments from his paychecks for political activism and refusing to follow federal disclosure requirements.

Because Minnesota does not have Right to Work protections making union affiliation completely voluntary, McHenry, who resigned from formal union membership in April, is still forced to pay fees to the union to keep his job.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Foundation’s Communication Workers of America v. Beck case that workers are not required to pay union dues or fees for union boss political activities, lobbying, and member-only events.

Union officials must also provide workers with an independently-audited financial breakdown of all forced-dues union expenditures. This procedural safeguard helps inform workers of how their forced union dues and fees are being spent and makes it a little less difficult for workers to hold union officials accountable.

After McHenry resigned from formal union membership, Teamster union officials provided him with an incomplete breakdown of union expenditures. The union is also taking money from McHenry’s paychecks for the Teamster hierarchy’s political action committee – a clear violation of federal law

“Teamster union bosses are illegally charging independent-minded workers for their political agenda and deliberately keeping workers in the dark about how their forced dues are being spent,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “To prevent these types of forced unionism abuses in the future, Minnesota needs to pass a Right to Work law making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary.”

Twenty-three states have Right to Work protections for its workers. Recent public polling shows that 80 percent of Americans and 80 percent of union members support the Right to Work principle of voluntary unionism.

Seattle, WA (June 8, 2012) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, four Virginia Mason Medical Center nurses have reached a class-wide settlement with the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) union over their rights to leave the union and opt out of paying union dues.

Therese Mollerus-Gale, Maureen Lenahan, Amber Finn, and Patricia Breen were all automatically enrolled in the WSNA union without their consent after becoming employed at Virginia Mason. The dispute arose last summer when Mollerus-Gale and Lenahan first attempted to leave the WSNA. All employees have a constitutional right to resign from a union at any time, but WSNA officials repeatedly denied the nurses’ attempts to leave the union on the grounds that their resignation letters weren’t “timely” or weren’t sent by certified mail. Finn and Breen met with similar obstructions when they later attempted to leave the union.

Under the WSNA’s contract with Virginia Mason, nurses can opt out of paying all union dues during a certain window period, but they were never notified of that right by union officials. Supreme Court precedent also gives nonunion employees the right to opt out of paying for union activities unrelated to collective bargaining, such as political lobbying, at any time. Once again, WSNA officials refused to acknowledge these rights or permit nurses to stop paying dues for union politics. In Lenahan’s case, union operatives actually threatened to have her fired for refusing to pay full dues.

The WSNA’s settlement with the nurses requires union officials to post public notices on their website and in the hospital acknowledging all nurses’ rights to refrain from union membership and the payment of full union dues. The notices explain that nurses may resign from the union at any time and can opt out of paying all union dues when the current contract expires. WSNA officials have also agreed to refund Amber Finn an amount equivalent to the union dues they illegally forced her to pay.

“We’re happy to report that four nurses have won a major settlement with the Washington State Nurses Association union,” said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “However, independent-minded employees shouldn’t have to resort to lengthy litigation to protect their workplace rights. Instead, Washington State should adopt a Right to Work law, which would ensure that no employee is forced to join or pay dues to a union just to get or keep a job.”