Teamster Union Bosses Hit with Federal Charges for Having Coca-Cola Worker Illegally Fired

Incident shows Pennsylvania’s workers desperately need Right to Work protections

Houston, PA (July 5, 2011) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a former Coca-Cola employee has filed federal charges against a local Teamster union and the company for discrimination and illegally firing him from his job.

Keith Smiesko of Saxonburg filed the federal charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Earlier this year, Teamster Local 585 union officials ordered Smiesko – who had refrained from full union membership and dues payments – to immediately pay full union dues for the previous three years along with additional union initiation fees without ever notifying him that he was being charged for their so-called “representation.” Union officials illegally threatened Smiesko with job termination if he did not pay.

Smiesko refused, exercising his rights under the Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent in Communication Workers v. Beck, which allows workers to refrain from full-dues-paying union membership. Teamster Local 585 union officials then demanded that Coca-Cola fire Smiesko and Coca-Cola complied with the union bosses’ command.

Read the entire release here.

Houston, PA (July 5, 2011) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a former Coca-Cola employee has filed federal charges against a local Teamster union and the company for discrimination and illegally firing him from his job.

Keith Smiesko of Saxonburg filed the federal charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Earlier this year, Teamster Local 585 union officials ordered Smiesko – who had refrained from full union membership and dues payments – to immediately pay full union dues for the previous three years along with additional union initiation fees without ever notifying him that he was being charged for their so-called “representation.” Union officials illegally threatened Smiesko with job termination if he did not pay.

Smiesko refused, exercising his rights under the Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent in Communication Workers v. Beck, which allows workers to refrain from full-dues-paying union membership. Teamster Local 585 union officials then demanded that Coca-Cola fire Smiesko and Coca-Cola complied with the union bosses’ command.

Smiesko also seeks to be reinstated immediately to his job with Coca-Cola while the case is pending.

“No worker should ever be extorted by union bosses to join or pay dues to a union in order to get or keep a job,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “Pennsylvania desperately needs Right to Work protections for its workers to strip from predatory union bosses the power to compel workers to give up some of their hard-earned money they need to provide for their families.”

Despite the Court precedent in Beck, union bosses can still force workers who refrain from formal union membership into paying part of union dues because Pennsylvania does not have a Right to Work law. However they cannot compel workers to pay the portion of union dues used for the union’s political, lobbying, and member-only activities.

If enacted, a 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 have already passed Right to Work protections for their workers.

Teacher Files Brief in Wisconsin Government Unionism Reform Battle in Federal Court

Public-sector union bosses file desperate lawsuit seeking to protect forced dues stranglehold over Wisconsin’s public workers and taxpayers

Madison, WI (June 29, 2011) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation and the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, a Kenosha teacher affected by Wisconsin’s recent public-sector unionism reforms has filed an amicus curiae brief in federal court.

Kristi Lacroix, who has been a teacher for 13 years and is an English teacher at the LakeView Technology Academy in Pleasant Prairie, filed the brief Monday in favor of the reforms which sharply limited government union officials’ monopoly bargaining power over public workers and taxpayers.

Earlier this month, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld Governor Scott Walker’s government-sector monopoly bargaining reform bill, which protects the Right to Work for most government employees and bans automatic forced-union-dues seizures from public employees’ paychecks.

In response, union lawyers filed a new lawsuit in federal court seeking to overturn the bill, claiming that Freedom of Association – the right of American citizens to voluntarily come together to express their opinions and petition the government – gives union bosses forced-dues and monopoly bargaining powers.

Foundation staff attorneys have won at the United States Supreme Court numerous times on this very issue, winning precedents that support the constitutionality of Wisconsin’s government-sector monopoly bargaining reform bill.

Read the entire release here.

Madison, WI (June 29, 2011) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation and the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, a Kenosha teacher affected by Wisconsin’s recent public-sector unionism reforms has filed an amicus curiae brief in federal court.

Kristi Lacroix, who has been a teacher for 13 years and is an English teacher at the LakeView Technology Academy in Pleasant Prairie, filed the brief Monday in favor of the reforms which sharply limited government union officials’ monopoly bargaining power over public workers and taxpayers.

Earlier this month, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld Governor Scott Walker’s government-sector monopoly bargaining reform bill, which protects the Right to Work for most government employees and bans automatic forced-union-dues seizures from public employees’ paychecks.

In response, union lawyers filed a new lawsuit in federal court seeking to overturn the bill, claiming that Freedom of Association – the right of American citizens to voluntarily come together to express their opinions and petition the government – gives union bosses forced-dues and monopoly bargaining powers.

Foundation staff attorneys have won at the United States Supreme Court numerous times on this very issue, winning precedents that support the constitutionality of Wisconsin’s government-sector monopoly bargaining reform bill. For example, in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1976), Foundation attorneys successfully argued that compulsory union dues for union boss politics violate dissenting employees’ First Amendment rights.

More recently, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Davenport v. Washington Education Association (2007) that, because union bosses have no constitutional right to collect fees from nonmembers, a state may require union officials to obtain consent before spending nonmember government employees’ forced fees on political activities. The court upheld that precedent in Ysursa v. Pocatello Education Association (2009) when it ruled 6-3 that an Idaho law banning payroll deduction for union political dues from state and local government employees was indeed constitutional.

In their legal brief, union officials admitted that under the reforms public-sector union bosses would lose at least a quarter of their forced-union-dues revenues. For example, Wisconsin teacher union bosses would not be able to force independent-minded teachers to pay $5.4 million in forced dues and $375,000 toward teacher union boss political activism, thus highlighting the need for a Right to Work law for Wisconsin’s workers – in both the public and private sectors.

“Despite mounting budget deficits and a public that demands accountability, Big Labor operatives have made their position clear: No concessions, no compromise, and no surrender,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “But union boss intransigence shouldn’t be allowed to derail the necessary reforms that free Wisconsin public-sector employees from being forced to pay union dues just to get or keep a job and strip union operatives of their ability to drive up the cost of government.”

“We intend to vigorously defend the Foundation-won Supreme Court precedents that guarantee government employees cannot be fired for refusing to subsidize union boss politics and to withstand Big Labor’s all-out assault to restore its forced-dues privileges over Wisconsin’s public workers.”

Bridgeport, CT (June 28, 2011) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, a local police officer has filed suit in United States District Court against two unions and the City of Bridgeport for illegally confiscating union dues from his paycheck.

Although the plaintiff, William Bailey, is not a union member, all Bridgeport police officers are subject to a bargaining agreement between the city and the Bridgeport Police Local 1159 and Council 15 AFSCME, AFL-CIO unions. After resigning his union membership in 2007, Bailey indicated that he wished to opt-out of dues unrelated to collective bargaining in 2011.

Because Connecticut has not passed a Right to Work law, state employees can be forced to pay part of union dues as a condition of employment. However, under the Foundation-won Supreme Court decision Teachers Local 1 v. Hudson, public employees must be notified how much of their dues are spent on union activities unrelated to collective bargaining – such as members-only events and political activism – and given the opportunity to opt out of paying for those activities.

Despite this precedent, the agreement between the City of Bridgeport and Local 1159 and Council 15 allows union officials to deduct a “service charge” from nonunion employees equal to the dues paid by full union members. Since January 2011, Bridgeport has seized and union operatives have collected the equivalent of full union dues from Bailey’s paycheck over his objections. Moreover, Bailey has not been given the opportunity to challenge the amount collected or review the union’s finances. Union officials have never responded to Bailey’s requests to opt out of paying full union dues in the first place.

Bailey’s complaint seeks the return of all unlawfully seized dues, plus interest, from the unions and an injunction to prevent union officials from collecting any dues from Bailey until Local 1159 and Council 15 adopt a payment procedure that safeguards his constitutionally-protected right to opt out.

“Public officials and union operatives colluded to extract full union dues from a nonunion police officer who has no interest in subsidizing the union’s agenda,” said Patrick Semmens, Legal Information Director for the National Right to Work Foundation. “Until Connecticut safeguards public employees’ rights by making union membership and dues payments completely voluntary, this type of abuse will continue unchecked.”

Washington, DC (June 27, 2011) – The United States Supreme Court today agreed to review a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that effectively forces nonunion California state employees to fund union political activism. The Ninth Circuit decision came in a class action lawsuit filed by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys for eight California civil servants – including two former union members – against the California State Employee Association (CSEA) union.

Under the Foundation-won Supreme Court decision Teachers Local 1 v. Hudson, public employees forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment must be notified of how much of their dues are spent on union activities unrelated to collective bargaining – such as members-only events and political activism – and given an opportunity to opt out of paying for said activities. Despite this precedent, CSEA union officials issued a “special assessment” in 2005 to raise money from all state employees for a union political fund, regardless of their membership status. Nonunion employees were not given a chance to opt out.

In 2007, a federal district court ruled that the CSEA was required to provide a notice to nonunion employees about the assessment, allow them to opt-out of paying into the union political fund, provide a refund of monies spent on union boss politics, and pay interest from the dates of the deduction to nonmembers who chose to opt out. After CSEA union lawyers appealed the case, a Ninth Circuit panel reversed that decision in December 2010.

On March 10, 2011, Right to Work attorneys filed a petition for a writ of certiorari for the plaintiffs with the United States Supreme Court.

“We’re happy to report that the Supreme Court will review a decision that effectively forces nonunion state employees to subsidize objectionable union political activities,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Allowing the Ninth Circuit’s ruling to stand would further undermine state employees’ First Amendment rights and encourage union bosses to extract more forced dues from nonunion workers as a condition of employment.”

Worker Advocate Blasts Labor Board Ruling to Allow Charleston Workers Minimal Say in Boeing Case

Big Labor watchdog slams ruling as insufficient; ploy to quietly sweep workers’ stories under the rug

Washington, D.C. (June 20, 2011) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, D.C. has ruled three Charleston-area Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) employees are allowed to intervene, albeit minimally, in the NLRB’s high-profile case against Boeing.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, North Charleston Boeing employees Dennis Murray, Cynthia Ramaker, and Meredith Going, Sr. filed a motion earlier this month to intervene in the NLRB’s unprecedented case targeting the company for locating production of some of its 787 Dreamliner airplanes in South Carolina, in part due to its popular Right to Work law.

An NLRB Administrative Law Judge in San Francisco denied the workers’ request and the workers were forced to file an emergency appeal with the national Board in Washington, D.C. The Board in D.C. has ruled that the employees can only file a brief in the case once the hearings, occurring in Seattle, Washington, are concluded.

Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work, issued the following statement in the wake of the Board’s ruling:

“The Obama Labor Board is poised to set a dangerous precedent that would allow union bosses to dictate to job providers where to locate their jobs with the aim, of course, of avoiding states with Right to Work protections for their workers and forcing more workers into union-dues-paying ranks.

“The public outcry regarding the NLRB’s renegade, pro-forced-unionism actions – spearheaded by the NLRB’s Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon – thus far has forced the NLRB to try to save face, but the ruling still leaves much to be desired.

Read the entire release here.

For more information, visit https://www.nrtw.org/boeing.

Washington, DC (June 20, 2011) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, D.C. has ruled three Charleston-area Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) employees are allowed to intervene, albeit minimally, in the NLRB’s high-profile case against Boeing.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, North Charleston Boeing employees Dennis Murray, Cynthia Ramaker, and Meredith Going, Sr. filed a motion earlier this month to intervene in the NLRB’s unprecedented case targeting the company for locating production of some of its 787 Dreamliner airplanes in South Carolina, in part due to its popular Right to Work law.

An NLRB Administrative Law Judge in San Francisco denied the workers’ request and the workers were forced to file an emergency appeal with the national Board in Washington, D.C. The Board in D.C. has ruled that the employees can only file a brief in the case once the hearings, occurring in Seattle, Washington, are concluded.

Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work, issued the following statement in the wake of the Board’s ruling:

“The Obama Labor Board is poised to set a dangerous precedent that would allow union bosses to dictate to job providers where to locate their jobs with the aim, of course, of avoiding states with Right to Work protections for their workers and forcing more workers into union-dues-paying ranks.

“The public outcry regarding the NLRB’s renegade, pro-forced-unionism actions – spearheaded by the NLRB’s Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon – thus far has forced the NLRB to try to save face, but the ruling still leaves much to be desired.

“The NLRB’s half measure is just a ploy to quietly sweep these workers’ stories under the rug while allowing the forced unionism advocates on the Board to try to appear they are not ignoring the workers in this case.

“The Board’s ruling is a further injustice to these workers, allowing only a minimal role in a case so vital to their job prospects and the Charleston community at large. Once again the Obama Labor Board is putting union boss priorities ahead of the rights and well-being of individual employees.

“Foundation staff attorneys plan to pursue all legal options to ensure that the rights of Charleston-area Boeing employees, and America’s independent-minded workers, are protected against the encroaching expansion of forced unionism.”

Late last week, Foundation attorneys also filed a federal unfair labor practice charge for Boeing employee Dennis Murray. This charge alleges that the union unlawfully retaliated against Charleston Boeing workers for removing the union from their facility. The NLRB regional office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina is investigating the charge.

For more information, visit https://www.nrtw.org/boeing.

South Carolina Boeing Employee Hits Machinist Union with Federal Charge for Illegal Retaliation

Machinist union bosses expelled from workplace trying to eliminate workers’ jobs in retaliation

Washington, DC (June 15, 2011) – A Charleston-area Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) employee has filed a federal unfair labor practice charge against the union behind the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) high-profile case against Boeing. The employee filed the charge with the NLRB regional office in Wilmington, North Carolina on Wednesday with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation.

The charge is in response to the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union and its Local 751 abusing federal labor policy – which is supposedly intended to help workers protect their rights – to bully Boeing for locating a new production line for 787 Dreamliner airplanes in South Carolina, partly because South Carolina is a Right to Work state.

The charge spells out how IAM union bosses are retaliating against the South Carolina employees by abusing the legal process to attempt to eliminate the jobs of over 1,000 Boeing employees in the Charleston area after the workers at the Dreamliner plant expelled the IAM from their workplace before the production line was located there.

The IAM Local 751 union’s charges – which spurred NLRB Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon to file a complaint against Boeing – would eliminate over 1,000 existing jobs in South Carolina if successful, not to mention several thousand more jobs that would be created once the Boeing plant reaches full production capacity.

Read the entire release here.

For more information, visit https://www.nrtw.org/boeing.

Washington, DC (June 15, 2011) – A Charleston-area Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) employee has filed a federal unfair labor practice charge against the union behind the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) high-profile case against Boeing. The employee filed the charge with the NLRB regional office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Wednesday with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation.

The charge is in response to the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union and its Local 751 abusing federal labor policy – which is supposedly intended to help workers protect their rights – to bully Boeing for locating a new production line for 787 Dreamliner airplanes in South Carolina, partly because South Carolina is a Right to Work state.

The charge spells out how IAM union bosses are retaliating against the South Carolina employees by abusing the legal process to attempt to eliminate the jobs of over 1,000 Boeing employees in the Charleston area after the workers at the Dreamliner plant expelled the IAM from their workplace before the production line was located there.

The IAM Local 751 union’s charges – which spurred NLRB Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon to file a complaint against Boeing – would eliminate over 1,000 existing jobs in South Carolina if successful, not to mention several thousand more jobs that would be created once the Boeing plant reaches full production capacity.

The workers in Boeing’s South Carolina plant booted IAM union bosses from their plant to help attract the Dreamliner production, as the workers did not want union bosses interfering with their job prospects. The charge against the union points out that if the IAM union hierarchy still had a presence in the South Carolina plant, then the South Carolina workers’ jobs would not be at risk.

“Workers should be free to choose whether or not to affiliate with a union and not have to worry about their jobs as a result,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “National Right to Work is proud to stand with the courageous employees as they fight to save their jobs and prevent the devastating effects the IAM union bosses’ and the NLRB’s actions will have on their community and workers across the country.”

National Right to Work Foundation attorneys filed the charge for Boeing employee Dennis Murray, who led the effort to remove the union from the Charleston plant. Foundation attorneys also represent Murray; Cynthia Ramaker, the former president of the IAM local union which was removed from the plant; and employee Meredith Going, Sr. with a motion to intervene in the NLRB’s case against Boeing. The employees’ motion is currently pending appeal with the NLRB in Washington, D.C.

For more information, visit https://www.nrtw.org/boeing.