South Carolina Boeing Employees Move to Intervene in Obama Labor Board’s Assault on Right to Work Laws

National Right to Work Foundation attorneys helping workers and former Machinist union president challenge attempt to send jobs to Washington

Washington, DC (June 2, 2011) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a group of Charleston-area Boeing Company employees are asking to intervene in the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) unprecedented case targeting Boeing (NYSE: BA) for locating production in South Carolina in part due to its popular Right to Work law. That law ensures that union dues and membership are strictly voluntary.

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 allows union bosses to dictate where job providers locate their facilities.

In 2009, Boeing, after experiencing repeated International Association of Machinists (IAM) union boss-instigated strikes in the forced unionism state of Washington, decided to locate a new production line for the 787 Dreamliner to South Carolina, partly because South Carolina is a Right to Work state. IAM union bosses in state of Washington cried foul and filed unfair labor practice charges against Boeing.

The NLRB’s Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon sided with IAM union bosses and decided to prosecute Boeing in late April. Ironically, workers in Boeing’s South Carolina plant booted IAM union bosses from their plant to attract the Dreamliner production, as the workers did not want union bosses interfering with their job prospects.

Boeing employees Dennis Murray, who led the effort to remove the union from the Charleston plant; Cynthia Ramaker, the former president with the local union which was removed from the plant; and Meredith Going filed their motion to intervene in the case with the NLRB regional office in Seattle, where the NLRB’s case is pending.

Read the entire release here.

To read the employees’ motion to intervene and their personal declarations supporting the motion, click here (pdf).

Washington, DC (June 2, 2011) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a group of Charleston-area Boeing Company employees are asking to intervene in the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) unprecedented case targeting Boeing (NYSE: BA) for locating production in South Carolina in part due to its popular Right to Work law. That law ensures that union dues and membership are strictly voluntary.

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 allows union bosses to dictate where job providers locate their facilities.

In 2009, Boeing, after experiencing repeated International Association of Machinists (IAM) union boss-instigated strikes in the forced unionism state of Washington, decided to locate a new production line for the 787 Dreamliner to South Carolina, partly because South Carolina is a Right to Work state. IAM union bosses in state of Washington cried foul and filed unfair labor practice charges against Boeing.

The NLRB’s Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon sided with IAM union bosses and decided to prosecute Boeing in late April. Ironically, workers in Boeing’s South Carolina plant booted IAM union bosses from their plant to attract the Dreamliner production, as the workers did not want union bosses interfering with their job prospects.

Boeing employees Dennis Murray, who led the effort to remove the union from the Charleston plant; Cynthia Ramaker, the former president with the local union which was removed from the plant; and Meredith Going filed their motion to intervene in the case with the NLRB regional office in Seattle, where the NLRB’s case is pending.

"This case is nothing more than an attack by the Obama Administration on Right to Work laws and all workers in Right to Work states where employees cannot be forced to pay union dues as a condition of getting or keeping a job," said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. "Workers in South Carolina should not be denied the opportunity to continue providing for their families to satisfy the outrageous forced unionism demands of union officials in Washington state."

"The National Labor Relations Board’s complaint is just the latest giveaway to Big Labor by an Obama Administration that has already erased union financial disclosure requirements and kept workers in the dark about the right to refrain from union membership, and is poised to eliminate workers’ ability to challenge a coercive card check campaign with a secret ballot vote," added Mix. "Once again the Obama Labor Board is putting union boss priorities ahead of the rights and well-being of individual employees."

To read the employees’ motion to intervene and their personal declarations supporting the motion, click here (pdf).

Bank Employee Wins Settlement After AFSCME Union Bosses Illegally Seized Forced Dues for Politics

Wisconsin needs Right to Work law to protect workers from forced unionism abuses

Milwaukee, WI (May 31, 2011) – A U.S. Bank customer service and support employee reached a settlement with local union officials last week after union officials illegally attempted to force him and his colleagues into full-dues-paying union membership.

Peter Quinones of Milwaukee filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 777 union officials in March with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation.

After AFSCME Local 777 union bosses were granted monopoly bargaining privileges over approximately 300 U.S. Bank employees, Quinones sent a letter to union officials stating that he was exercising his right under National Right to Work Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent in Communication Workers v. Beck to refrain from full-dues-paying union membership.

Read the entire release here.

Milwaukee, WI (May 31, 2011) – A U.S. Bank customer service and support employee reached a settlement with local union officials last week after union officials illegally attempted to force him and his colleagues into full-dues-paying union membership.

Peter Quinones of Milwaukee filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 777 union officials in March with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation.

After AFSCME Local 777 union bosses were granted monopoly bargaining privileges over approximately 300 U.S. Bank employees, Quinones sent a letter to union officials stating that he was exercising his right under National Right to Work Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent in Communication Workers v. Beck to refrain from full-dues-paying union membership.

Because Wisconsin is a forced unionism state, workers who refrain from formal union membership can still be forced to pay part of union dues, but cannot be compelled to pay the portion used for the union’s political, lobbying, and member-only activities.

Despite his letter, AFSCME Local 777 union officials continued to extract full union dues from Quinones’ paycheck. After he filed an unfair labor practice charge, union officials still refused to honor his request to exercise his legal rights. Quinones then filed another charge to prevent the union hierarchy from requiring him to pay forced union fees by automatic deduction from his paycheck in violation of federal law. The latest charge forced AFSCME Local 777 union officials to finally settle the case.

In the settlement, union officials agreed to reimburse all union dues illegally seized from Quinones’ and his coworkers’ paychecks and to post a notice in the workplace informing the workers of their rights to refrain from union membership and object to funding union boss political activities.

“Despite this legal victory for U.S. Bank employees in Milwaukee, workers across the Badger State are still being forced to pay for union boss political activism,” said Patrick Semmens, National Right to Work legal information director. “Wisconsin’s workers badly need a Right to Work law to help them protect their rights against unscrupulous union boss spending.”

If passed, a Wisconsin Right to Work law would end compulsory union dues by making union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary. Polls consistently show that 8 in 10 Americans support the Right to Work principle, that no worker should be compelled to join a union or pay union dues to get or keep a job. Twenty-two states already have Right to Work protections for their workers.

Washington, DC (May 23, 2011) – With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a Maryland county government employee is asking a federal court to stop the Obama Administration from allowing union bosses to conceal lavish and corrupt union expenditures from workers.

Chris Mosquera, a member of a Municipal County Government Employee Local of the United Food and Commercial Worker (UFCW) union, filed the lawsuit against Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for rescinding a union boss disclosure rule which would make it less difficult for workers to hold union officials accountable.

Unions covered by the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) with total annual receipts of $250,000 or more are currently required to submit annual financial statements to the U.S. Department of Labor. LM-2 forms are the public disclosure documents for these larger unions and are available online on the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) website.

These forms have helped workers and citizen activists expose many unscrupulous union boss schemes, including lavish benefits to high-ranking union officials and loyalists, superfluous spending on union boss transportation (including private jets), and shady political spending (such as the Service Employees International Union bosses’ links to the disgraced political organization ACORN).

Mosquera seeks to intervene for the millions of workers who are forced by federal mandate to accept union boss “representation” and pay union dues or fees to a union in order to get or keep their jobs.

The lawsuit alleges that Solis exceeded her power as Secretary of Labor by repealing a January 2009 LM-2 Final Rule because the rule put a “burden” on union officials to report their expenditures to the public. However, under federal law, Solis cannot use “burden” as a justification for rescission of a rule. Solis further overstepped her legal authority by singlehandedly creating a new rule that allows union bosses to more easily evade and circumvent the LMRDA.

The Right to Work Foundation also has a federal lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the DOL over a Freedom of Information Act request for internal DOL communications and communications with union officials concerning the LM-2 rule change.

“Once again the Obama Administration puts union boss priorities ahead of the rights and well-being of individual employees,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “Hilda Solis apparently believes that not only should union bosses have the power to compel workers to pay union dues and fees as a condition of employment, but that those same union bosses should be able to keep workers in the dark about how those forced union dues and fees are spent.”

Indianapolis, IN (May 19, 2011) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, WRTV anchor Patricia Shepherd has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) union.

Shepherd’s charges allege that AFTRA officials demanded she pay dues despite the fact that she is not a union member and the union has not had a contract with her employer for the past two years.

Because Indiana lacks a Right to Work law, employees can be forced to pay union dues for the purposes of workplace bargaining just to get or keep a job. In recent months, Indiana legislators were considering a law to make union dues payments strictly voluntary, but Governor Mitch Daniels and House Speaker Brian Bosma, despite strong majorities on record in favor of a Right to Work bill in both chambers of the state legislature, ultimately killed the legislation.

In this case, the AFTRA union has not had a contract with WRTV since March 2009 and therefore is not entitled to collect dues for negotiations with management. Moreover, the last contract between the union and the television station indicated that joining AFTRA or paying union dues was not a condition of employment at WRTV.

Although the union’s own contract includes language stating that dues payment is not a condition of employment, AFTRA officials continue to insist that Shepherd pay union dues. The union has gone so far as to refer Shepherd’s name to a professional collections agency in Pennsylvania.

Shepherd’s charges will now be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board.

“The decision by Speaker Bosma and Governor Daniels to block a vote on an Indiana Right to Work law means that union bosses will continue to order employees fired for refusing to pay union dues,” said Patrick Semmens, Legal Information Director for the National Right to Work Foundation. “In this case, union officials broke the law by attempting to collect dues without a valid forced unionism clause, but other Indiana union bosses are still empowered to collect hundreds of millions of dollars from workers who face termination if they don’t pay up.”

Semmens continued: “Ultimately, a Right to Work law for the Hoosier State would be the best way to end this injustice, ensuring that union membership and dues payment are strictly voluntary.”

Worker Advocate Files FOIA Request to Disclose Political Motives Behind NLRB’s Attack on Boeing

Foundation offers free legal aid to current and prospective Boeing employees in South Carolina who would lose their jobs if IAM union bosses have their way

Washington, DC (May 16, 2011) – The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosure request with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on the heels of the agency’s recent announcement that it will prosecute airline manufacturer Boeing Corp.

If International Association of Machinists (IAM) union officials and the NLRB are successful, over 1,000 Boeing employees in South Carolina would be out of work as Boeing will be forced to relocate the aircraft assembly jobs to Washington State which lacks Right to Work protections for employees.

The NLRB’s acting general counsel, Lafe Solomon, issued the complaint against Boeing late last month at the behest of IAM union bosses. In 2009, Boeing opened the new plant to produce 787 Dreamliner airplanes in South Carolina, largely because South Carolina is a Right to Work state that protects workers from being required to join or pay dues to a union just to get or keep a job.

Foundation President Mark Mix submitted the FOIA inquiry on Monday.

Read the entire release here.

Read the Foundation’s FOIA request here (pdf).

Washington, DC (May 16, 2011) – The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosure request with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on the heels of the agency’s recent announcement that it will prosecute airline manufacturer Boeing Corp.

If International Association of Machinists (IAM) union officials and the NLRB are successful, over 1,000 Boeing employees in South Carolina would be out of work as Boeing will be forced to relocate the aircraft assembly jobs to Washington State which lacks Right to Work protections for employees.

The NLRB’s acting general counsel, Lafe Solomon, issued the complaint against Boeing late last month at the behest of IAM union bosses. In 2009, Boeing opened the new plant to produce 787 Dreamliner airplanes in South Carolina, largely because South Carolina is a Right to Work state that protects workers from being required to join or pay dues to a union just to get or keep a job.

Foundation President Mark Mix submitted the FOIA inquiry on Monday.

In the request, Mix asks that the agency produce all the documentation regarding communications between NLRB officials and third parties, including communications with Obama administration officials; officials from the offices of the Governors of Washington and Oregon; and any other federal, state, or local government agency personnel regarding Boeing or the IAM union, the opening of the company’s facility in South Carolina, and about the NLRB’s complaint against Boeing itself.

“Once again the Obama Labor Board is putting union boss priorities ahead of the rights and well-being of individual employees,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “If the NLRB succeeds in its prosecution of Boeing and Boeing is forced to move its production at the whim of IAM union bosses, over 1,000 jobs in South Carolina would be eliminated and a troubling precedent would be set.”

“In addition, the National Right to Work Foundation has ramped up its legal program to assist all current or prospective Boeing employees who could lose their jobs as a result of the NLRB’s aggressive posture toward independent-minded workers.”

Read the Foundation’s FOIA request by clicking here (pdf).

Homecare Providers Win Settlement with State to Permanently Stop Childcare Unionization Scheme

Right to Work Foundation attorneys continue federal class action lawsuit against union officials to recover millions in illegally confiscated dues

Lansing, MI (May 11, 2011) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, five homecare workers have reached a settlement with Governor Rick Snyder ensuring that Michigan will no longer be able to force home-based childcare providers into union ranks.

Carrie Schlaud, Diana Orr, Peggy Mashke, and Edward and Nora Gross originally filed a class-action suit against then-Governor Jennifer Granholm and a United Auto Workers (UAW) and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) coalition, the Child Care Providers Together Michigan (CCPTM) union, for designating homecare workers who accepted state assistance as state employees and forcing them to pay union dues and accept CCPTM “representation.”

Under Granholm’s direction, the Michigan Department of Human Services created an agency known as the Michigan Home Based Child Care Council to provide union officials with an entity to negotiate with as the homecare providers’ “management.” Working with the council, CCPTM operatives staged a union certification election to acquire monopoly bargaining privileges over Michigan homecare workers.

Click here to read more . . .

Lansing, MI (May 11, 2011) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, five homecare workers have reached a settlement with Governor Rick Snyder ensuring that Michigan will no longer be able to force home-based childcare providers into union ranks.

Carrie Schlaud, Diana Orr, Peggy Mashke, and Edward and Nora Gross originally filed a class-action suit against then-Governor Jennifer Granholm and a United Auto Workers (UAW) and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) coalition, the Child Care Providers Together Michigan (CCPTM) union, for designating homecare workers who accepted state assistance as state employees and forcing them to pay union dues and accept CCPTM “representation.”

Under Granholm’s direction, the Michigan Department of Human Services created an agency known as the Michigan Home Based Child Care Council to provide union officials with an entity to negotiate with as the homecare providers’ “management.” Working with the council, CCPTM operatives staged a union certification election to acquire monopoly bargaining privileges over Michigan homecare workers.

Although only 15 percent of the 40,000 homecare providers receiving state assistance voted in the union certification election, CCPTM union bosses were then granted monopoly bargaining privileges and the power to collect union dues from home-based care providers.

The Michigan Home Based Child Care Council has since been disbanded, but the new settlement ensures that the state will never force homecare workers to financially support a union as a condition of receiving state assistance.

Despite this victory, the plaintiffs and their Right to Work attorneys continue to pursue the class-action lawsuit against the CCPTM union to reclaim the forced dues collected from child care providers before the Michigan Home Based Child Care Council was dismantled. The plaintiffs and their attorneys are currently pressing their case at a hearing before the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division.

“We’re pleased that the settlement with Governor Snyder guarantees that Michigan homecare workers will never be forced into union ranks again,” said Patrick Semmens, Legal Information Director for the National Right to Work Foundation. “However, our work won’t be over until UAW and AFSCME union bosses are forced to give back over two million dollars in forced dues they extracted from unwilling childcare providers since 2008.”