IBEW union officials threatened to fire worker for failure to pay union fees, even though union contract is invalid

Murphysboro, IL (August 26, 2022) – Penn Aluminum International employee Mary Beck has filed new federal charges against the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 702 union, stating that union officials threatened to get her fired for failure to pay union fees demanded under a defective contract.

Beck, who is receiving free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation, has amended charges she hit the union with in June. The original charges stated IBEW union officials unlawfully seized money from her wages without her consent and without proving that a contract mandating such deductions is in effect.

Because Illinois lacks Right to Work protections for its private sector employees, union officials can legally force workers in facilities under union control to pay some union fees just to stay employed. However, union bosses lose this legal privilege if there is no valid monopoly bargaining contract in effect. Under longstanding law, union officials must also gain consent from a worker before they can demand that an employer deduct compulsory fees from a worker’s paycheck.

Beck’s original unfair labor practice charge noted that she sent a letter to IBEW union chiefs and her employer in January 2022 exercising her right to resign her union membership and to stop any union dues deductions from her paychecks that are not required to maintain employment. Her letter also demanded a copy of any contract that gives IBEW officials the power to require dues payments as a condition of employment.

When she received no response, she redelivered this letter by hand in March 2022. In this letter Beck also requested that, if IBEW union officials could produce a valid contract, her dues payments be reduced as per the Foundation-won CWA v. Beck Supreme Court decision. In CWA v. Beck the Court ruled that union officials in non-Right to Work states cannot force nonmembers to pay fees for political and other union activities outside the union’s bargaining functions. Union dues were still deducted from her paycheck after this letter.

IBEW Union Bosses Blew Off Worker Requests for Months, Then Threatened Her Termination

Beck’s amended charge states that IBEW union officials didn’t acknowledge her requests until July, when they finally sent a copy of the union contract and ended dues deductions, but still demanded she pay an unspecified amount of union fees to keep her job. The amended charge points out that the contract produced does not contain language that lets IBEW bosses take advantage of their legal privilege to force all employees to pay dues as a condition of employment.

According to the amended charge, the contract also does not “contain the grace period required by Section 8(a)(3)” of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). That section of the NLRA requires new employees to be given at least 30 days before being compelled to pay union fees in a workplace under a forced-fees union contract.

Union officials in an August 9 letter threatened to terminate Beck by August 15 if she didn’t pay union fees. “The letter failed to provide Charging Party with the exact amount the Union claims she owes or a reasonable opportunity for her to pay those alleged fees,” Beck’s amended charge says. Both are required by longstanding precedents.

Beck’s new charge argues that the union’s continued deduction of dues after her March letter and demands for union fees without a valid contract in place violate her rights under the NLRA.

“IBEW bosses threatening to upend Ms. Beck’s career for failure to pay fees to which the union’s sloppily-written contract doesn’t even entitle them is terrible malfeasance to be sure, but a correctly written contract certainly wouldn’t solve the problem,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “The real injustice is that millions of workers across the country, Ms. Beck included, can be forced to pay anything to a union hierarchy just to keep their jobs.”

“Ultimately, every worker in America deserves the protection of a Right to Work law, not only so workers are shielded from having to choose between their jobs and funding a union they oppose, but also because when dues are fully voluntary union officials must prove their worth to workers before earning their financial support,” Mix added.

Foundation’s 2018 Supreme Court victory protects public workers’ right not to fund union they oppose, but union officials can still ‘speak for’ dissident workers

Washington, DC (August 19, 2022) – National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix issued the following statement in recognition of National Employee Freedom Week:

“On this week, we remind all independent-minded American educators and public sector workers that the First Amendment forbids union officials from getting employees fired merely for refusal to join or fund a union that pushes divisive politics, negotiates lousy contracts, or simply acts against worker interests.

“However, while the Foundation’s 2018 Supreme Court victory in Janus v. AFSCME protects public workers’ ability to stop subsidizing union activities they oppose, much more needs to be done to fully defend these employees’ free association rights. Public sector union officials in the vast majority of states still wield government-granted monopoly ‘representation’ power over workers who don’t want and never asked for a union, and the Foundation is currently fighting alongside workers who oppose their voices being stifled by this coercive, unconstitutional privilege.”

National Employee Freedom Week is dedicated to educating American public teachers and other public sector employees that they have a right to refuse to fund or join unions in their workplace that do not serve their interests. Public employees are also advised this week that, although union bosses don’t want them to know it, many non-union voluntary options exist to provide liability insurance and other benefits that union officials tout as a reason to join a union, even though union membership means paying for union political activities that many workers oppose. In fact, many non-union options for liability insurance, especially for teachers, provide better coverage than union options at far less cost to teachers.

In the 2018 Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court decision argued and won by Foundation staff attorneys, the Justices ruled that public employees have a First Amendment right to cut off dues to an unwanted union, and also recognized that union dues could only be deducted from a public sector employee’s paycheck with their explicit consent. Even today, many union officials refuse to abide by this limit on their coercive power, resulting in numerous ongoing lawsuits by Foundation staff attorneys seeking to enforce workers’ Janus rights.

In the Janus decision, Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote for the majority, additionally explained that union monopoly “representation” power in the public sector is “a significant impingement on associational freedoms that would not be tolerated in other contexts,” perhaps indicating an interest from the High Court in striking down this coercive privilege in the future.

Trial documents show union activist advocating ‘targeted assassinations’ of union critics, Southwest senior management referring to nonmember as ‘cancer’

Dallas, TX (August 3, 2022) – During former Southwest Airlines flight attendant Charlene Carter’s recently-concluded federal trial over her illegal firing at the hands of Southwest and Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), disturbing details emerged about the union’s treatment of employees who object to the union’s agenda. The trial ended in a unanimous jury verdict in favor of Carter which awarded her more than $5 million in combined compensatory and punitive damages.

Carter’s Foundation staff attorneys filed a lawsuit for her in 2017 against the union and Southwest for illegally firing her for speaking out about her religious beliefs and against the union’s political activities. In January 2017, Carter learned that Audrey Stone, then union president, and other TWU Local 556 officials used union dues to attend the “Women’s March on Washington D.C.” That event was sponsored by political groups Carter opposed, including Planned Parenthood.

The illegal firing occurred after President Stone reported Carter to Southwest for sending Stone online messages challenging Stone’s leadership and the political agenda the union hierarchy was pursuing. Carter’s opposition to union political activities included the TWU officials’ advocacy against a National Right to Work law which, if passed, would have allowed Carter to completely cut off financial support to the union.

Emails Show Union Militants Ridiculed Employees Who Didn’t Want to Fund Union Politics, Pushed ‘Targeted Assassinations’ for Union Dissidents

At the trial Carter’s attorneys introduced emails obtained in discovery that showed TWU higher-ups’ contempt for workers opposed to the union’s control. A 2014 email communication to Southwest’s then-Senior Director in Inflight Services, Sonya Lacore, from TWU union activist Brian Talburt had the latter advocating for “targeted assassinations” of union dissidents via social media. Lacore referred to Talburt as her “frequent pen pal” during her deposition prior to trial.

In the same email, Talburt labeled Corliss King, who later became a Local 556 executive board member, as “incredibly dangerous” because “She will play VERY well to the heavy inner city, minority crowd.” Talburt suggested there would be an “opportunity” for an assassination of King given what he described as her “dreadful work history.”

Also in the email, a union nonmember and frequent critic, Mike Casper, was referred to as a “cancer” that must be “eradicated.” Talburt also appears to call union critics “sheeple” and “cancer,” and says dissent against the union is “a dangerous thing and must b [sic] eradicated when ever [sic] possible or it spreads… I highly encourage targeting people.”

Talburt later forwarded the email to TWU president Stone highlighting what he claimed was “off the record” promotion to Lacore of “targeted assassination” of union critics. President Stone would then later target Carter with the complaint to company management that led to Carter’s illegal termination by Southwest.

President Stone also testified at trial to reporting other union opponents to Southwest, including the leader of the recall effort whom Stone reported for criticizing her on social media for reporting Carter. Throughout 2017, Talburt repeatedly emailed Southwest management, asking that they discipline the recall leader and other union opponents for their protected activities.

Emails unearthed by Foundation attorneys and introduced at trial also showed the contempt that Southwest and TWU officials had for Carter specifically because she opposed union political activities. After Carter sent an email to TWU Local 556 Treasurer John Parrot demanding that the union stop deductions from her paycheck for the union’s Political Action Committee (PAC), Parrot forwarded Carter’s request to several union agents, saying “Ha! She has been supporting the thing she despises this entire time…”

One respondent to Parrot’s forward was Todd Gage, a TWU Local 556 Vice President, who wrote: “I wish I could give her a list of all the campaigns she has donated to in the last 17 years! Her head would explode.” Local 556 Second Vice President, Brett Nevarez, said “so typical bat****/dip**** cannot read her paycheck!”

Foundation Attorneys Will Continue to Defend Carter

Despite the unanimous jury verdict for Carter, Southwest and TWU union officials have announced that they will appeal. Foundation staff attorneys will continue to defend Carter.

“Ms. Carter demonstrated that, even in an overwhelmingly toxic environment, independent-minded workers can stand up, push back against union boss attacks on individual rights and free speech, and win,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “The evidence presented at Carter’s trial reveals an ingrained union culture of intimidation and prejudice against dissident workers. While we will keep fighting to defend Ms. Carter’s victory for her rights, flight attendants or other employees who have experienced similar hostility should not hesitate to contact the National Right to Work Foundation for help in defending their rights.”

“Federal law governing labor relations in the air and rail industries allows union officials to demand workers fund their activities as a condition of employment,” Mix added. “TWU union officials’ attacks on employees who disagree with the union’s agenda are the unsurprising result of a system in which workers do not have even the simple power to withhold dues when union officials violate their rights – an accountability mechanism Right to Work protects.”

TWU union and Southwest retaliated against employee for speaking out against political stances and activities of union leadership that violated her religious beliefs

Dallas, TX (July 14, 2022) – Southwest Airlines flight attendant Charlene Carter has just prevailed in her federal lawsuit in which she charged the Transportation Workers Union of America (TWU) Local 556 union and Southwest for illegally firing her for her religious opposition to abortion. She received free legal representation from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys.

Today a federal district court jury returned a verdict that found in Carter’s favor in all counts of the lawsuit. The jury awarded Carter $5.1 million in combined compensatory and punitive damages against TWU and Southwest for their respective role in her unlawful termination.

Following the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas’ announcement of a verdict in the case, National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix issued the following statement about Carter’s victory:

“This long overdue verdict vindicates Ms. Carter’s fundamental right to dissent from the causes and ideas that TWU union officials – who claim to ‘represent’ Southwest flight attendants – support while forcing workers to bankroll their activities. No American worker should have to fear termination, intimidation, or any other reprisal merely for speaking out against having their own money spent, purportedly in their name, to promote an agenda they find abhorrent.

“Even with this basic right under the Railway Labor Act successfully defended, however, TWU union officials still enjoy the enormous government-granted privilege of being able to force airline workers to financially subsidize their activities as a condition of employment. While we’re proud to stand with Ms. Carter and are pleased by the verdict, there ultimately should be no place in American labor law for compelling workers to fund a private organization that violates their core beliefs.”

Flight Attendant Called Out Union Officials for Their Political Activities

As a Southwest employee, Carter joined TWU Local 556 in September 1996. A pro-life Christian, she resigned her membership in September 2013 after learning that her union dues were being used to promote causes that violate her conscience, such as abortion.

Carter resigned from union membership but was still forced to pay fees to TWU Local 556 as a condition of her employment. State Right to Work laws do not protect her from forced union fees because airline and railway employees are covered by the federal Railway Labor Act (RLA). The RLA allows union officials to have a worker fired for refusing to pay union dues or fees. But it does protect the rights of employees to remain nonmembers of the union, to criticize the union and its leadership, and advocate for changing the union’s current leadership.

In January 2017, Carter learned that Audrey Stone, the union president, and other TWU Local 556 officials used union dues to attend the “Women’s March on Washington D.C.,” which was sponsored by political groups she opposed, including Planned Parenthood.

Carter, a vocal critic of Stone and the union, took to social media to challenge Stone’s leadership and to express support for a recall effort that would remove Stone from power. Carter also sent Stone a message affirming her commitment to both the recall effort and a National Right to Work law after the union had sent an email to employees telling them to oppose Right to Work.

After sending Stone that email, Southwest managers notified Carter that they needed to have a mandatory meeting as soon as possible about “Facebook posts they had seen.” During this meeting, Southwest presented Carter screenshots of her pro-life posts and messages and questioned why she made them.

Carter explained her religious beliefs and opposition to the union’s political activities. Carter said that, by participating in the Women’s March, President Stone and TWU Local 556 members purported to represent all Southwest flight attendants. Southwest authorities told Carter that President Stone claimed to be harassed by Carter’s messages. A week after this meeting, Southwest fired Carter.

Religious Discrimination Suit Already Weathered Early Attack from Southwest and Union

In 2017, Carter filed her federal lawsuit with help from Foundation staff attorneys to challenge the firing as an abuse of her rights, alleging she lost her job because of her religious beliefs, standing up to TWU Local 556 officials, and criticizing the union’s political activities and how it spent employees’ dues and fees.

Before the District Court’s decision, a federal judge blocked attempts to shut down the case early by Southwest and TWU. Both defendants filed motions for summary judgment, with Southwest claiming that Carter lacked a “private right of action” to enforce her rights under the Railway Labor Act (RLA) and that her case concerned only a “minor” dispute over interpretation of the union contract that is outside the jurisdiction of the District Court. District Court Judge Brantley Starr rejected all those motions, ruling that “genuine disputes of material fact” precluded summary judgment and that a jury should decide those disputes.