Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court rules that unwilling employees can’t be trapped in union for seven years

Philadelphia, PA (June 16, 2016) – Thanks to the efforts of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Kaolin Mushroom Farms employees have won a decision upholding their vote to remove the Kaolin Workers Union (KWU). The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court unanimously ratified the results of a March 2015 union decertification election that evicted the KWU.

In September 2014, Kaolin Farms employee Roberto Morales filed a decertification petition indicating that he and his coworkers were dissatisfied with the union and wished to hold a vote to remove the KWU. A Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) Secretary initially dismissed the petition on the grounds that the union’s presence could not be challenged for a seven-year period after its contract with the employer was adopted. According to the Secretary, this “contract bar” would remain in force until October 2, 2016, the earliest date an election could be held under that bar.

Foundation staff attorneys helped Morales file an objection to this decision with the full PLRB, arguing that unwilling employees shouldn’t be kept in union ranks for such a lengthy period, and that there is no basis in Pennsylvania law for the seven-year contract bar. The PLRB eventually decided to hold a secret ballot election in March 2015, which resulted in Kaolin Farms employees rejecting the union by a decisive margin.

Instead of accepting the employees’ verdict, union lawyers filed objections to the election outcome, once again arguing that a vote could not be held until after the seven-year contract bar had expired. Fortunately for Morales and his coworkers, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled unanimously that the employees could not be denied a vote to oust the union for such a long time. Instead, the court ruled that, after three years, the contract no longer could block a decertification vote by employees seeking to remove the union.

“Thanks to the efforts of Roberto Morales and Foundation staff attorneys, Kaolin Farms employees have finally evicted one very stubborn union,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Unfortunately, Morales and his coworkers had to endure a lengthy legal process before their vote was finally upheld.”

“Workers shouldn’t have to jump through this many legal hoops to get rid of an unwanted union,” added Mix. “Pennsylvania needs to adopt a Right to Work law, which would ensure that no employee is forced to pay dues to an unwanted union just to keep a job. Such a law would prevent employees stuck with an unpopular union from being forced to pay dues to the very organization they are trying to remove.”

National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys filed an amicus brief in the case for three construction workers who opposed the rule changes

Springfield, VA (June 10, 2016) – Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, released the following statement regarding the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in Associated Builders and Contractors Inc v. National Labor Relations Board:

“The 5th U.S. Circuit of Appeals has declined to overturn a series of rule changes that fly in the face of the National Labor Relations Act and endanger the rights of independent-minded workers. These rules are designed to dramatically shorten the amount of time employees have to share information with their coworkers about the pros and cons of unionization. They also require employers to hand over workers’ private information, including their personal phone numbers and email addresses, to aggressive union organizers, an open invitation for abuse and harassment.”

“If appropriate, Foundation staff attorneys will raise challenges for disadvantaged workers to the rules as they are applied in particular cases. We also encourage any employee who has been victimized by abusive union organizing campaigns to contact us immediately for free legal assistance.”

SEIU filings show $32 million was seized from 80,000 providers in scheme ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2014

Chicago, IL (June 7, 2016) – The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois has just denied a motion for class certification in a lawsuit filed by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys for three Illinois homecare providers.

The lawsuit is a continuation of Harris v. Quinn, a Foundation Supreme Court victory in 2014 that held that the collection of forced union dues from home-based caregivers violated their First Amendment rights. After the Supreme Court’s June 2014 ruling the case, now designated Riffey v. SEIU, was remanded to the District Court to settle the remaining issues, including the question of whether the SIEU would be forced to return over $30 million dollars in dues confiscated from nonmembers as part of its unconstitutional scheme.

The latest decision can be appealed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the homecare providers’ Foundation-provided attorneys are now considering when to file an appeal.

Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation, issued the following statement on the ruling:

“The United States Supreme Court ruled that the SEIU had illegally confiscated union dues from thousands of Illinois homecare providers, but this ruling denies those same caregivers the opportunity to reclaim money that never should have gone to the SEIU in the first place. If this order stands it will allow the SEIU to have violated the First Amendment rights of over 80,000 homecare providers with impunity.

“If SEIU bosses are not required to return the money they seized in violation of homecare providers’ constitutional rights, it will only encourage similar behavior from union officials eager to trample the First Amendment to enrich themselves over the objections of tens of thousands of homecare providers.”

NLRB ruling greenlights election to determine if union officials get to continue to bargain for all teachers and collect mandatory union dues

Nassau County, NY (June 6, 2016) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, 27 Evergreen Charter School employees have won the right to conduct a decertification election to decide the fate of the Evergreen Charter Staff Association-NYSUT union. The Regional Director for Region 29 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has scheduled the union decertification election for June 16, 2016.

Under the National Labor Relations Act, private-sector employees in unionized workplaces have the right to petition for a decertification election to remove a union. After 22 Evergreen employees signed and submitted an election petition to the NLRB in April, union officials attempted to head off the vote by claiming that Evergreen Charter School is a public employer, and thus outside the NLRB’s jurisdiction.

Union lawyers argued that the New York State Public Employment Relations Board has jurisdiction over Evergreen employees, an interpretation that was ultimately rejected by the NLRB, which determined that the Evergreen Charter School is a private employer. Had the union’s arguments prevailed, the school’s employees would have been forced to pursue a much more onerous and complex process to remove the unwanted union.

The scheduled decertification election will determine whether Evergreen employees can be forced to pay union dues and accept union bargaining over their salaries and working conditions. If a majority of eligible employees vote against the union, the Evergreen Charter Staff Association union will be formally removed from the school and lose its workplace privileges.

“We’re happy to report that the NLRB has rejected union lawyers’ attempt to derail the Evergreen decertification vote,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Given the fact that the NYSUT opposed the establishment of the Evergreen Charter School in the first place, it’s no surprise that these teachers and support staff are disillusioned with the union’s so-called ‘representation’.”

“Employees shouldn’t have to jump through this many hoops to get rid of one stubborn union, but Foundation staff attorneys are committed to helping these teachers and support staff navigate the decertification process and assert their right to vote out union officials whom they feel are a detriment to their school and their students,” added Mix.

Union bosses and company blocked Blue Cross Blue Shield employees’ attempt to assert their rights under Michigan’s recently-enacted Right to Work law

Grand Rapids (June 2, 2016) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, two Grand Rapids Blue Cross Blue Shield employees have filed federal unfair labor practice charges against their employer and UAW Local 2145. According to Rayvonne Brown and Jennifer Smith, union officials continued to collect money from their paychecks after they had formally notified the union of their decision to opt out of further dues payments.

In December 2015, the contract between Blue Cross Blue Shield and UAW Local 2145 expired. The contract included a provision that required all employees to pay union fees as a condition of employment. Once the contract expired, however, Brown and Smith notified the union and their employer that they were revoking their dues authorization and opting out of paying union dues.

Under Michigan’s recently-enacted Right to Work law, no employee can be required to pay union dues as a condition of employment. Forced-dues contracts between unions and employers that were agreed to before the law was passed continue in force, but once those contracts expire, nonunion employees in the bargaining unit can no longer be required to pay union dues to keep their jobs.

Despite these legal protections, Blue Cross Blue Shield deducted union dues from Brown and Smith’s January and March paychecks, which were then give to UAW officials. Brown and Smith’s charges, which ask for the return of all illegally-seized union dues with interest, will now be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board.

“Michigan’s Right to Work law was a tremendous victory for employee rights, but the law has to be enforced if employees are to benefit from these new legal protections,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. “It is an outrage that so many workers have to take legal action just to get union officials to honor their rights under the law.”

“Any Michigan employees seeking to assert their newly-enshrined rights should contact the National Right to Work Foundation immediately for free legal aid,” Mix added.

The charges are the latest of over 30 legal cases filed by Foundation staff attorneys to enforce Michigan’s Right to Work law, which ensures that union membership and the payment of union dues are strictly voluntary. Michigan became the 24th state to pass a Right to Work law in 2012. Wisconsin and West Virginia have subsequently passed Right to Work laws.

Union boss suit pushes theory that could jeopardize all 26 state Right to Work laws and create “right” to collect forced union dues from unwilling workers

Boise, ID (May 26, 2016) – The National Right to Work Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides free legal assistance to union-abused employees nationwide, will file an amicus curiae brief in International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 370 v Wasden, a federal lawsuit that challenges Idaho’s Right to Work law. The brief in support of the state’s motion to dismiss will be filed in United States District Court for the District of Idaho.

The brief notes that Right to Work laws have withstood intense legal scrutiny for over 60 years, having never been struck down by a federal court or a state appellate court. Responding to IUOE union lawyers’ dubious claim that Right to Work laws unconstitutionally force union officials to “represent” nonunion employees without compensation, the brief notes that the National Labor Relations Act grants unions immense workplace power by allowing them to impose a one-size-fits-all union contract on all employees – union and nonunion alike – in a union-controlled bargaining unit.

“IUOE bosses are asking a United States District Court to reject over 60 years of legal precedent,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Idaho’s longstanding and popular Right to Work law should not be overturned on the basis of an outrageous legal theory advanced by union lawyers, who are attempting to create a constitutional ‘right’ for union bosses to extort money from workers forced to accept unions’ so-called representation.”

Foundation staff attorneys have also defended newly-enacted Right to Work laws in Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin from various union legal challenges, most recently in a brief submitted to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

Dane County Circuit Court judge’s wrongheaded ruling creates legal uncertainty, but National Right to Work attorneys remain confident that law will be ultimately upheld

Springfield, VA (May 18, 2016) – Responding to a recent Dane County Circuit Court judge’s decision against Wisconsin’s Right to Work law, National Right to Work Foundation and Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) attorneys have filed an amicus curiae (‘friend of the court’) brief in support of the State’s motion to stay pending before the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. The motion calls on the court not to allow the lower court’s erroneous ruling against the Right to Work law to take effect while the decision is being appealed.

Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, released the following statement on the filing:

“Wisconsin employees should not be forced to pay union dues to get or keep a job. That vital principle was enshrined in Wisconsin’s Right to Work law, a measure that is legally supported by decades of court decisions affirming a state’s right to protect its citizens from compulsory unionism. One outrageous ruling from Dane County doesn’t change those facts.

“National Right to Work Foundation and WILL attorneys have just filed a brief urging the Wisconsin Court of Appeals to grant the state’s motion to stay, which would put the Dane County Circuit Court ruling on hold while the matter is on appeal. In the meantime, the National Right to Work Foundation is renewing its offer of free legal assistance to any Wisconsin employees who wish to refrain from paying dues to unions they don’t belong to or support.”

Wisconsin employees seeking free legal aid can contact the National Right to Work Foundation via phone at 1-800-336-3600 or online at www.nrtw.org.

Employees filed charges after IAM officials ignored resignation requests when workers tried to exercise their rights under Wisconsin’s Right to Work law

Sparta, WI (May 11, 2016) – Recently, International Association of Machinists Lodge No. 1771 (IAM) union officials and Northern Engraving Corporation officials jointly distributed a letter to all Northern Engraving employees notifying workers that their attempts to resign union membership and stop union dues deductions from their paychecks would no longer be blocked or ignored. The letter, which came in response to NLRB charges filed by Northern Engraving employees, also stated that all wrongfully seized union dues would be refunded.

However, some workers still have not received refunds. On Monday, another worker, with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation-provided staff attorneys, filed new charges against the company and union officials.

Earlier this year Foundation-provided staff attorneys assisted multiple Northern Engraving Corporation employees in filing federal unfair labor practice charges against their employer and the IAM union local. According to the charges, union and company officials violated federal law by ignoring the workers’ attempts to resign from the union and stop paying union dues. Under Wisconsin’s recently-enacted Right to Work law, no employee can be forced to join or pay dues to a union to keep a job.

Although the workers had previously belonged to the IAM, they sent letters to their employer and the union announcing their decision to resign and stop paying dues. Not only did union officials fail to respond to the resignation letters, but Northern Engraving continued seizing the money from employees’ wages and turning it over to the union.

The employees’ charges are being investigated by Region 18 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

“Even as union officials claimed they were willing to finally follow the law so these workers could finally exercise their rights to refrain from union membership and payment of union dues or fees, it appears more legal action will be required to force union officials to respect the rights of the very workers they claim to represent,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation.

“Foundation staff attorneys will continue to vigorously defend and enforce Wisconsin’s Right to Work law to ensure that no worker is forced to pay union dues or fees just to get or keep a job,” added Mix.

Constitutional challenge would free childcare providers from being forced to accept unwanted SEIU ‘representation’

Washington, DC (May 4, 2016) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, eight Massachusetts childcare providers have petitioned the Supreme Court to strike down a compulsory unionism scheme on First Amendment grounds. The caregivers are challenging a Massachusetts law that empowers union officials to speak for all childcare providers, including those who have not joined and do not support the union, when bargaining with state government.

The providers seek to halt implementation of a Massachusetts law that designates the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) as the exclusive bargaining agent for thousands of in-state childcare providers. Under the law, SEIU officials are empowered to negotiate with the State of Massachusetts over the providers’ professional practices and a public subsidy they receive for caregiving. The affected providers are either small business owners or family members who care for the children of relatives.

Foundation attorneys argue that the current arrangement violates the providers’ First Amendment right to choose with whom they associate to petition their government by naming a union as their state-designated lobbyist.

The caregivers’ petition builds on the National Right to Work Foundation’s 2014 Supreme Court victory in Harris v. Quinn, which outlawed the collection of mandatory union dues from home-based caregivers. Prior to that decision, the Massachusetts law the petitioners are challenging empowered union officials to collect forced dues from all home-based childcare providers. According to Foundation staff attorneys, the Harris precedent suggests that caregivers should also be free from the burden of accepting an unwanted union’s bargaining and mandatory representation.

Foundation staff attorneys are helping home and childcare providers challenge similar schemes in Minnesota, Illinois, New York, Oregon, and Washington State.

“Small business owners and those who help care for relatives’ children should not be forced to associate with labor union officials they have no interest in supporting,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “We hope the Supreme Court takes this opportunity to outlaw government-imposed monopoly union representation for home-based care providers as incompatible with the First Amendment.”

Settlement requires union to refund illegally-confiscated dues

Ofallon, IL (May 4, 2016) – With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a local bus driver has obtained a settlement from Amalgamated Transit Union Local 788 that ensures she will no longer be forced to pay full union dues to keep her job. Under the terms of the settlement, Jennifer Handyside will also receive a refund of union fees wrongfully deducted from her paychecks in 2015 and 2016.

Handyside resigned from the union and opted to reduce her dues payments in March 2015. Despite her resignation and objection, Local 788 continued to charge Handyside fees that included amounts not lawfully chargeable to objecting nonmembers and even resumed collecting full dues in December 2015.

Because Illinois lacks a Right to Work law, nonunion employees like Handyside can be required to pay part of union dues as a condition of employment. However, nonunion workers cannot be required to pay for anything unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as union politics.

Foundation attorneys filed Handyside’s charges against Local 788 in January 2016. Handyside has now obtained a settlement that requires Local 788 to refund the wrongfully-confiscated union fees. Under the terms of the agreement, union officials are also required to post a public notice at the local bus drivers’ office informing all employees of their right to refrain from union membership and the payment of full union dues.

“Although we are happy to report that Jennifer Handyside is receiving a refund from Local 788 union officials, it shouldn’t take legal action to force union bosses to respect the rights of the very workers they claim to represent,” said Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Nonunion employees shouldn’t be required to pay any dues at all to a union they don’t belong to or support, which is why Illinois employees need Right to Work protections. Union dues should be strictly voluntary, and not paid simply because union officials would have a worker fired if they refused.”