Right to Work Foundation brief argues NLRB is harming workers by imposing union over their objections

Hope, Arkansas (November 11, 2016) – National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys have filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, in St. Louis, opposing an NLRB ruling that forces workers at an Arkansas bakery into unwanted union representation. The brief was filed by the Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation on behalf of John Hankins.

Hankins is an employee of Southern Bakeries in Hope, Arkansas, and has been the leader of several efforts to remove Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers International Local 111 from his workplace. After the NLRB Regional Director refused to process multiple petitions from the workers at this facility to remove Local 111 as their exclusive bargaining representative, Hankins collected signatures from two-thirds of the employees asking that Southern Bakeries withdraw recognition of Local 111 as it “does not enjoy the support of a majority of employees in the bargaining unit.” Southern Bakeries complied with his request in July 2013.

Local 111 officials responded by filing unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB challenging Southern Bakeries’ withdrawal of recognition. The NLRB obtained an injunction to force the workers back into the union, but the U.S. Court of Appeals reversed. Now, at a later stage of the process, the NLRB is again asking that same court to reinstate the rejected union.

The Foundation’s brief argues that the NLRB order reinstating Local 111 as the monopoly bargaining agent grievously harms the workers of Southern Bakeries. Two-thirds of the employees signed the petition rejecting Local 111 officials’ representation, but the NRLB has completely ignored the employees’ wishes. The NLRB also tramples on the workers’ rights laid out in the First Amendment, the right to associate with whomever the workers choose, by forcing them into a monopoly bargaining situation without hope of relief. The brief asks the court of appeals to vacate the NLRB order and restore the workers’ freedom of association.

“It is outrageous that the Obama NLRB is using a federal court to stop employees from getting rid of a union that is overwhelmingly opposed, when the workers are simply trying to exercise their basic right to the freedom of association,” Foundation President Mark Mix said. “This is just the latest example of workers rights being trampled on by union officials and non-elected government bureaucrats, despite the protections offered by Arkansas’ Right to Work law.

National Right to Work Foundation-backed lawsuit for homecare workers seeks to stop SEIU from blocking them from exercising First Amendment rights

Salem, OR (November 3, 2016 – Staff attorneys from the National Right to Work Foundation and the Freedom Foundation have filed a lawsuit for several homecare workers against the State of Oregon and SEIU Local 503 in Federal court in Eugene, Oregon.

The lawsuit comes after both the state and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 503 refused to stop deducting union dues and fees from homecare workers who either resigned or objected to union membership, refusing to accept dues ‘opt-out’ forms submitted by homecare workers.

The lawsuit also hits the state and union for deliberately obfuscating the resignation process, notably restricting homecare providers to only being allowed to choose to opt out of paying dues during an annual 15 day period that is different for each worker and unknown to the caregivers.

The Right to Work Foundation-won Harris v. Quinn Supreme Court case explicitly held that it is unconstitutional under the First Amendment to compel objecting nonunion providers to pay any union dues or fees.

The suit asks for an injunction to force union officials to honor the rights of home healthcare providers who exercise their constitutional right to cease financial support of a union. It also seeks refund of any dues and fees collected by SEIU 503 after providers objected to union forced dues payments.

National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix commented, “Union bosses feel no shame in taking money from family members who are providing care to loved ones. It is outrageous that these forced dues schemes continue to be forced on workers whom the union hierarchy claims to defend, even after the Supreme Court said these schemes are clearly unconstitutional.”

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

Teamsters Local 455 officials had just been reprimanded by the National Labor Relations Board for similar violations last month

Fort Morgan, CO (November 2, 2016) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys a local worker has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 455 union.

In charges filed by Francisco Manjarrez, union officials violated federal labor law by threatening to have him fired for exercising his right to circulate a deauthorization petition among workers at his workplace. If a deauthorization petition gains the necessary percentage of signatures, workers get to vote to end union bosses’ power to require them to pay money to the union or be fired.

After Manjarrez refused to back down from circulating the petition, union officials threatened illegal retaliation against him and his co-workers who had signed the petition. Union bosses went even further in retaliation for Manjarrez’s role in rallying disaffected workers, demanding that the employer fire him.

Manjarrez also asked to see a copy of the monopoly bargaining agreement between the union and his employer to which he is subjected to. Union officials refused to provide him a copy, an additional violation of federal law.

The charges against Teamsters Local 455 come just weeks after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a complaint against the union for violating federal labor law by not representing workers in a labor dispute who chose not to pay full union dues. The union was also charged with lying to workers that they would not be promoted or represented unless they paid full union dues or fees.

“This case shows what blatant disregard these union officials have for the law and the rights of rank-and-file employees whom they claim to represent,” said National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “This case underscores why Colorado workers need Right to Work protections to make union affiliation and fees strictly voluntary.”

National Right to Work Foundation assists teachers in legal fight to uphold the results of decertification election to remove AFT union from school

Washington, D.C. (October 31, 2016) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has denied an appeal of a decertification election by the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) union. The NLRB ruling now cements in stone the results of the decertification election that took place at the Evergreen Charter School in June.

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. With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, 22 Evergreen employees signed and submitted an election petition to the NLRB in April. Union officials then 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 claimed that the New York State Public Employment Relations Board has jurisdiction over Evergreen employees, an interpretation that the NLRB ultimately rejected. The NLRB accepted Foundation attorneys’ argument 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.

During the decertification election that took place on June 15th, a majority of eligible employees voted against monopoly union representation. As a result, the AFL-CIO affiliated union was formally removed from the school and lost its workplace privileges. Union lawyers immediately filed a long-shot appeal to the NLRB which put on hold the election results until the NLRB ruled in favor of the teachers.

“We are pleased that this long legal fight is finally over,” National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix commented. “Given the fact that the NYSUT union bosses opposed the establishment of the Evergreen Charter School in the first place, it’s no surprise that these teachers and support staff rejected the union’s so-called ‘representation’. Teachers should not have to jump through all these hoops just to do what is right for their school and students.”

Rejected Big Labor legal theory claims union boss ‘right’ to seize forced dues from workers who reject union membership

Boise, ID (October 25, 2016) – National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix released the following statement regarding the United States District Court for the District of Idaho’s decision to dismiss Big Labor’s lawsuit in IUOE v. Wasden, which sought to overturn Idaho’s longstanding popular Right to Work law:

“Union lawyers all over the country, including here in Idaho, are pushing an outrageous legal theory attempting to create a constitutional ‘right’ for union bosses to extort money from workers forced to accept unions’ so-called representation. We are pleased that the court rejected this outrageous union legal theory and followed over 60 years of legal precedent.”

National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys submitted an amicus curiae brief in this case which the judge cited in the ruling. Foundation attorneys are also defending Right to Work laws in Wisconsin and West Virginia.

National Right to Work Foundation-backed lawsuit for homecare workers seeks to stop SEIU forced dues scheme

Olympia, WA –Staff attorneys from the National Right to Work Foundation and the Freedom Foundation have filed a federal, class-action lawsuit for several homecare workers against the State of Washington at the U.S. Court for the Western District of Washington in Tacoma.

The lawsuit comes after both the state and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 775 refused to stop deducting union dues and fees from homecare workers who either resigned or objected to union membership.

The Foundation won Harris v. Quinn Supreme Court case explicitly held that it was unconstitutional under the First Amendment to compel objecting nonunion providers to pay any union dues or fees.

The lawsuit also hits the state and union for knowingly deceiving workers about their constitutional right not to financially support the union and opt out of dues payments.

The suit asks for an injunction to force the union to honor the rights of home healthcare providers who exercise their constitutional right to cease the financial support of a union. It also seeks refund of any refund any dues and fees collected by SEIU 775 after providers objected to union forced dues payments.

National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix commented, “Union bosses are so desperate for forced dues to fill their coffers they feel no shame in extorting money from family members providing care to ill loved ones. It is a disgrace that these forced dues schemes are still going on around the country even after the Supreme Court said they were blatantly unconstitutional.”

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

Union officials illegally attempting to levy five figure fines against Verizon employees who chose to work despite union boss-initiated work stoppage

New York, NY (October 18, 2016) – Seven Verizon employees have filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union for violating federal labor law after the employees exercised their right to resign their union memberships during a high profile union boss-ordered strike in April.

In April, CWA union officials announced a coordinated work stoppage at Verizon facilities and ordered workers up and down the East Coast, from Massachusetts to Virginia, to abandon their jobs. CWA Local 1107, which is the target of the NLRB charges, participated in the strike.

Soon after CWA union officials ordered the strike, the workers chose to resign from the union and return to work. Under federal law workers cannot be compelled to join in a union-boss ordered strike. However, under a 1972 NLRB ruling, to protect themselves from internal union discipline they must resign their formal union membership before to returning to work, as each of these workers did.

Nonetheless, these workers were notified by CWA officials that they were being tried by the unions on internal charges of violating the union’s constitution, despite the fact that these workers were not union members when they returned to work and thus are protected by federal law.

The workers refused to attend the union’s vigilante court, protesting that it had no jurisdiction over them as non-members.

On September 15th, the union held a sham trial and fined the workers for exercising their federally protected rights. Soon after, each worker was informed by letter that they had been fined sums of between nine and thirteen thousand dollars.

“Here is yet another group of union bosses illegally fining the workers whom they claim to represent for having the audacity to stand up for themselves,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Hard working Americans should not have to fear sham trials and shadow courts punishing them for providing for their families. This pattern of abuses is why New York needs a Right to Work law to protect worker’s rights.”

National Right to Work Foundation assisting government workers seeking to protect their First Amendment rights by ending mandatory union dues

Chicago, IL (October 11, 2016) – Two Illinois government employees have filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to continue their case challenging the constitutionality of government union officials forced-dues privileges. The workers, all employed by the State of Illinois are currently required to pay union dues or fees to a union as a condition of their employment.

A District Judge recently dismissed the case, Janus v. AFSCME, and the two employees, who are receiving free legal assistance from staff attorneys with the National Right to Work Foundation and the Illinois Policy Institute’s Liberty Justice Center, have now formally filed their appeal of that dismissal.

National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix issued the following statement regarding the latest development in the case:

“No citizen should be forced to pay union dues or fees just to work for their own government. This is a fundamental violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the violation is especially egregious for public servants who are currently required to pay dues to a private organization just to work for their own government. We are hopeful that the United States Supreme Court will soon outlaw this unjust practice for every public employee across the country.”

Foundation files another brief in Big Labor’s lawsuit arguing union boss forced dues powers should be dismissed

Charleston, WV (October 5, 2016) – National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys filed an amicus curiae brief in Kanawha County Circuit Court supporting the state of West Virginia’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by 10 state unions. The brief was filed for the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation joined by The National Federation of Independent Businesses Small Businesses Legal Center.

The Foundation previously filed another amicus brief in the case in August, asking the judge to reject union arguments for a preliminary injunction because West Virginia’s Right to Work Law is no different than the other 25 state Right to Work Laws which have withstood intense legal scrutiny for over 60 years, and never been struck down by a federal court or a state appellate court.

Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Bailey had announced at a hearing in August that she intended to grant a preliminary injunction. However, the judge has not since issued an injunction order. In the meantime, the parties were required to file dispositive motions by October 4. Consequently, Foundation attorneys have filed another brief to grant the State’s motion for summary judgement and uphold the Right to Work law, just as the U.S. Supreme Court and other appellate courts have held constitutional other state Right to Work laws.

The National Right to Work Foundation has a long history of successfully defending Right to Work laws in state and federal court, most recently in Indiana and Michigan. Foundation attorneys have also filed briefs in union lawsuits challenging Wisconsin and Idaho’s Right to Work laws.

“West Virginia’s Right to Work law should stand just like the 25 other state laws in place. Union officials are advancing an outrageous and rejected legal theory that attempts to create some kind of ‘right’ for them to extort money from workers forced to accept unions’ so-called representation,” Foundation President Mark Mix commented. “Instead of working to overturn Right to Work so they can order workers fired for refusing to pay, West Virginia union officials ought to be asking themselves why they are so afraid to give workers a choice as to union dues and fees.”

After the West Virginia Legislature overrode Governor Tomblin’s veto and became the 26th Right to work state on February 4, the National Right to Work Foundation announced an offer of free legal aid to any employees seeking to assert their rights under the new law. The Foundation also created a special task force to defend the West Virginia law, which went into full effect July 1, from any Big Labor legal challenges.