National Right to Work Foundation assists Michigan State University employee after university union bosses illegally demanded forced union fees and ignored union resignation

East Lansing, Michigan (March 18, 2016) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a Michigan State University employee has filed unfair labor practice charges with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) against the MSU Administrative Professional Association (APA) union and its state affiliate, the Michigan Education Association (MEA). The charges detail how union officials violated Michigan’s public sector Right to Work law by illegally demanding compulsory union fees.

Nichole Frattaroli works as an information technologist at Michigan State University. Frattaroli exercised her right to resign her APA union membership in September 2015 and revoked her dues-checkoff authorization form.

On September 30, 2015, the preexisting monopoly bargaining agreement between the APA and Michigan State expired, and Frattaroli became fully covered by Michigan’s public sector Right to Work law.

Despite her resignation, full union dues continued to be deducted from her October, November, and December paychecks. In late December, Frattaroli sent another letter to Michigan State and APA officials noting that they had violated the Right to Work law. APA officials ignored Frattraoli’s letter.

In mid-January, after sending a third letter, Frattaroli received an e-mail from APA officials stating that Frattaroli remained an APA member, and that she is required to pay nearly $600 in union dues. In response, Frattaroli requested that APA officials accept her September resignation and refund all of the illegally seized dues APA received from October through December. The union has not responded to Frattaroli’s request.

Michigan’s Right to Work law protects Frattaroli’s right to refrain from union membership, and prohibits union officials from charging workers union dues or fees as a condition of employment.

“This latest forced-dues foul is part of union bosses’ playbook of illegal blocks and screens designed to prevent workers from exercising the protections enshrined in Michigan’s popular new Right to Work laws,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation.

“What we are seeing in Michigan is a widespread systematic attempt by union bosses to undermine Michigan’s Right to Work protections by repeatedly violating the law. Fortunately, the National Right to Work Foundation stands ready assist workers in enforcing their legal rights so these violations cannot continue with impunity.”

National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys are currently litigating more than 40 cases in Michigan for employees whose rights have been violated by Michigan union officials.

Employees voted to oust Teamsters last November but were forced to wait months while the NLRB resolved a last-ditch union attempt to overturn results

Santa Cruz, CA (March 16, 2016) – Following a lengthy legal process, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has certified the outcome of an election removing Teamsters Local 912 from two Oakland-area Threshold Enterprises facilities. National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys participated in the hearing for Tomas Campos, a Threshold employee who opposed the union’s presence and defended the employees’ vote to eject the union.

Prior to the decertification election, Local 912 was the monopoly bargaining agent for approximately 546 Threshold employees at the facilities. Because California lacks a Right to Work law, this meant that Teamster officials were legally empowered to collect mandatory union dues or fees from all workers, including the majority who opposed the union’s presence.

In late November 2015, Threshold employees voted 269-195 to remove the Teamsters. Union lawyers responded by filing four election objections with the NLRB, three of which were immediately rejected. After holding a hearing on the remaining objection, the NLRB ultimately upheld the election results.

Not only did union officials fight the decertification results, they also retaliated against employees who opposed the union’s presence. Prior to the election, Foundation staff attorneys filed federal unfair labor practice charges for Hector Garcia and Enriqueta Morales, two employees whose jobs were threatened for working to remove the union. Garcia and Morales also say that other employees faced harassment and intimidation from Teamster operatives for opposing the union’s presence.

“Mr. Campos and his colleagues had to overcome legal obstructionism and Teamster boss intimidation tactics to get rid of a union they wanted nothing to do with,” said Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Unfortunately, workers across the country often face similar hurdles when attempting to remove unwanted union bosses from their workplaces.”

“This episode also emphasizes the need for a California Right to Work law, which would ensure that no employee can be forced to pay union dues to get or keep a job,” continued Semmens.

National Right to Work Foundation assists public school teacher after Grand Rapids Education Association union officials illegally demanded nearly $2,000 in forced union fees

Grand Rapids, Michigan (March 9, 2016) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a public school teacher in Grand Rapids, Michigan has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) against the Grand Rapids Education Association (GREA) and the Michigan Education Association (MEA). The charge details how union officials violated Michigan’s public sector Right to Work law by illegally demanding compulsory union fees.

Becky Lapham is a teacher with Grand Rapids Public Schools and works at the Lincoln Developmental Center. When she resigned her membership with the GREA union, union officials informed Lapham that even as a nonmember she would be required to pay union fees until the existing monopoly bargaining agreement expired in 2015.

Once the preexisting monopoly bargaining agreement expired on June 30, 2015, Lapham became fully covered by Michigan’s public sector Right to Work law.

Despite her rights under Michigan’s public employee Right to Work law, in January 2016 Lapham received a letter from MEA union officials demanding nearly two thousand dollars in union dues. The letter included an invoice for 2015-2016 membership dues, and listed Lapham as a “member,” even though she had exercised her right to resign from formal union membership nearly a year and half earlier.

Because Lapham is not a union member and is fully covered by the Right to Work law, she cannot be required to pay any union dues or fees as a condition of employment. The MEA’s demand for forced dues prompted Lapham to file the charge which MERC will now investigate.

“Nearly every day we learn of yet another blatant violation of Michigan’s Right to Work laws by union bosses,” said Mark Mix, president of the NRTW Foundation. “The NRTW Foundation will continue to fight alongside teachers, bus drivers, civil servants, and all workers who suffer abuse from forced unionism. These sorts of schemes must not continue, because no worker should ever be forced to pay union dues or fees just to get or keep a job.”

National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys are currently litigating over 40 cases in Michigan for employees whose rights have been violated by Michigan union officials.

Union and parking contractor collaborated to foist unwanted union “representation” on employees

Bethesda, MD (March 8, 2016) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, 14 National Institute of Health (NIH) parking attendants have filed federal unfair labor practice charges against a federal contractor and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 27 union for violating their workplace rights. According to the charges, union and company officials coerced employees at the Bethesda NIH facility into acceding to unionization and then demanded they all pay full union dues to keep their jobs.

In October 2015, Penn Parking replaced Colonial Parking as the parking contractor at the Bethesda NIH campus. Penn officials then told the employees, many of whom had worked for NIH for years, that they could only keep their jobs if they signed union membership and dues deduction cards. Although these were signed under duress, union officials used the cards to begin collecting full dues from these employees.

Not only did UFCW officials bypass the proper legal procedures that determine whether a group of employees unionize, they also violated federal labor law by telling the employees that they must become dues-paying union members to keep their jobs. Union officials and employers are legally prohibited from requiring anyone to formally join a union as a condition of employment.

The NIH later determined that Penn Parking was wrongly given the contract, and the company is now in the process of being replaced by another contractor. However, union officials insist that they continue to “represent” the parking attendants, despite the fact that these employees were coerced into joining the union in the first place.

The charges will now be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency that administers private sector labor law.

“These employees were forced to join and pay dues to a union they had no interest in supporting,” said Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “That’s outrageous, which is why Foundation staff attorneys intervened to defend their workplace rights.”

“Aside from highlighting the union’s coercive organizing tactics, this episode also demonstrates the need for a Maryland Right to Work law, which would protect employees from being forced to pay any union dues at all to keep a job,” added Semmens.

Union officials violated employees’ rights by threatening to have them fired if they didn’t pay full union dues and a hefty union initiation fee

Portland, OR (March 7, 2016) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, three KOIN TV employees have filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the NABET-CWA Local 51 union. The employees charge that union officials failed to inform them of their right not to formally join the union, billed them for full union dues, and demanded they pay a $2,700 “union initiation fee” or be fired from their jobs.

Hannah Button, Peter Marshall, and Lacey Hamerin all began working at KOIN TV in late 2014 and early 2015. Because Oregon lacks a Right to Work law, nonunion employees can be required to pay union fees as a condition of employment. However, these employees cannot be forced to pay for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as union politics. They are also entitled to information about union finances to help them determine what they are obligated to pay.

In all three cases, union officials blatantly ignored these longstanding protections. When Hannah Button joined KOIN TV in January 2015, union officials failed to inform her of her right to refrain from paying full union dues. In July 2015, Button sent the union a letter announcing her decision to resign and reduce her dues payments. Union officials failed to respond to Button until February 2016, when they told her that she would still be charged for full union dues for the period before she submitted her resignation letter, despite the fact that she was never informed of her right to resign and reduce her dues payments in the first place.

Union officials also claimed that Button still had to pay a full “union initiation fee” of $2,700, and that the total amount she owed was over $3,000. Further, if she did not pay the entire amount within 17 days, the union would have her fired.

Marshall and Hamerin faced similar demands from union officials when they attempted to resign and reduce their dues payments. All three employees were never informed of their workplace rights and received no information from union officials about how the forced dues they supposedly owe were calculated. Like Button, Marshall and Hamerin were also told that they would lose their jobs if they failed to promptly pay thousands of dollars in union dues and initiation fees.

Button, Marshall, and Hamerin’s charges will now be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board.

“Union officials will go to great lengths to extract as much cash as possible from nonunion employees,” said Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Although Local 51 officials’ outrageous demands clearly violate federal law, Oregon law enables this type of abuse by empowering union officials to require nonunion workers to pay some union fees as a condition of employment.”

“Oregon should rectify this unjust arrangement and curb future abuses by passing a Right to Work law, which would make all union dues strictly voluntary,” added Semmens.

NLRB investigation finds Rite Aid employee was illegally threatened with termination when union officials demanded she join the union and pay full dues

Constantine, MI (March 4, 2016) – Responding to a charge filed for Laura Fries by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a formal complaint against United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 951 because union officials threatened to have several Rite Aid employees fired for refusing to join the union and pay full dues.

Fries worked as a certified pharmacy technician at a Rite Aid pharmacy in Sturgis, Michigan. With the help of Foundation staff attorneys, she filed charges with the NLRB after a Local 951 representative told her that she had to join the union and pay full dues to keep her job.

Federal labor law holds that no worker can be forced to formally join a union, but employees can be forced to pay up to 100% of union dues to keep a job. Under Michigan’s recently-enacted Right to Work law, most Michigan employees cannot be required to pay any union dues or fees as a condition of employment. However, union monopoly bargaining contracts that authorize mandatory union fees and predate passage of the Right to Work law, a category that includes the contract between Fries’ former employer and Local 951, were grandfathered in under a provision in the bill. This means that Fries could be forced to pay a so-called “agency fee” to Local 951, but federal law protects her right to refrain from full union membership and from paying dues for activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as union politics.

Despite those longstanding protections, on November 2, 2015, Fries was told by a union official that she would be fired unless she joined Local 951. Fries then signed the union membership and dues checkoff authorization forms under duress, adding the phrase “did not want to join.”

When Fries called Local 951’s office later that day, another union official said that she had been wrongfully informed that union membership is required for employment. However, this union representative also said that Fries would have to send a letter stating her desire to refrain from union membership, and informed Fries she owed back union dues from January 2015, when she first began working at Rite Aid. November 2 was the first time Fries had ever been told that she had to pay union dues as a condition of employment and owed back dues.

On November 3, Local 951 acknowledged receipt of Fries’ letter expressing her desire to refrain from joining the union. However, Local 951 did not indicate whether Fries’ resignation had been accepted. Local 951 also failed to provide any further information about what “back dues” Fries allegedly owed, and did not inform Fries how she could avoid paying for Local 951’s political activities, despite the union’s legal obligation to do so.

Fries’ employer began deducting full union dues from her paycheck in November. According to the NLRB’s complaint, several other employees were also told they would lose their jobs if they did not join the union.

“Union officials illegally threatened workers who had no interest in joining the union or paying full dues,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “While we hope the NLRB promptly intervenes to ensure nonunion employees’ rights are respected, this case demonstrates the importance of Michigan’s new Right to Work laws, which prevent union bosses from using their forced dues powers to abuse employees’ rights.”

Veteran officer was transferred out of prestigious SWAT position for asserting his workplace rights

Hartford, CT (March 3, 2016) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a Connecticut State Trooper has just filed a lawsuit in United States District Court against the Connecticut State Police Union (CSPU), the CSPU’s president, and Connecticut’s Commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. According to Sergeant Joseph Mercer, he and other troopers suffered retaliation from union officials for exercising their workplace rights.

Sergeant Mercer, a veteran state trooper, is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed in 2015 that alleges CPSU officials refused to allow nonunion employees to opt out of paying dues for union politics. Sergeant Mercer says that he was then transferred from a prestigious post because he resigned from the union, refrained from supporting its political agenda, and is involved in the lawsuit.

In May 2015, Sergeant Mercer was appointed Operations Sergeant to the Emergency Services Division, a prestigious command position that entails significant responsibility for SWAT training and field operations. Although Sergeant Mercer has seventeen years of SWAT experience, CPSU President Andrew Matthews made several attempts to meet with state police command staff to protest Sergeant Mercer’s new position because of his nonunion status. In June 2015, Matthews filed a grievance against Sergeant Mercer’s appointment. Matthews’ grievance claimed that there had been no “selection process” to fill the position, despite the fact that none of Sergeant Mercer’s union-member predecessors had undergone any kind of selection process before they got the job.

In October 2015, Matthews successfully lobbied the Commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services to have Mercer transferred out of the Emergency Services Division to an administrative post. Mercer’s new position gives him substantially fewer opportunities to work in the field or accrue overtime pay. The transfer order could cost Mercer approximately $50,000 in pensionable overtime pay per year.

Prior to his transfer, Mercer had never received any warnings, reprimands, or other disciplinary actions during his career as a Connecticut State Trooper. Mercer’s lawsuit seeks his reinstatement as Operations Sergeant in the Emergency Services Division and compensatory damages for the decrease in his overtime pay opportunities.

“Union bosses just can’t stomach employee dissent, or even the mention of rights that employees have to refrain from union activities,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Instead of respecting Mercer’s rights to refrain from joining the union and supporting its political agenda, the CSPU’s president launched an ugly campaign to deprive him of a position he obtained on his own merits.”

“Law enforcement officers shouldn’t have to endure workplace reprisals for standing up for their rights,” continued Mix. “We hope this lawsuit holds CSPU bosses accountable for their retaliatory actions.”

10 Maysteel workers file charges to stop company and union officials from seizing forced union dues

Washington County, WI (March 2, 2016) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, ten Maysteel Industries employees have filed charges in Wisconsin State Circuit Court as well as with the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission against International Association of Machinists Union District 10, IAM Lodge 2053, and Maysteel Industries, LLC. The workers charge that IAM union bosses and Maysteel violated Wisconsin’s Right to Work law when they were forced to pay union fees to keep their jobs.

All of the plaintiffs work at Maysteel’s sheet metal fabrication plant in Allenton. Before Wisconsin had a Right to Work law, Maysteel and IAM entered into a monopoly bargaining agreement which expired on March 4, 2015 that contained a forced dues clause.

In mid-March 2015, several of the workers approached human resources officials to get a copy of the new monopoly bargaining agreement that would be imposed. The workers were told that IAM officials and Maysteel were still working on the contract and that it would be signed on March 18, 2015.

Wisconsin’s private sector Right to Work law, which protects a worker’s right to refrain from paying any union dues or fees as a condition of employment, took effect on March 11, 2015. Several of the workers sent letters to Maysteel and IAM officials noting that because the Right to Work law would apply to the new contract, they could no longer be required to pay any fees to IAM as a condition of employment.

In late April, union bosses responded in a letter incorrectly claiming that Wisconsin’s Right to Work law did not apply to the new contract and threatening that if the workers did not pay a portion of their paycheck to IAM officials, the union would order Maysteel to terminate their employment. Since the new contract took effect, Maysteel has continued to require union fees from all ten of the workers in violation of Wisconsin’s Right to Work law.

“Sadly, this is just the latest Big Labor scheme to siphon off money from workers’ paychecks,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Union bosses apparently think that workers won’t notice if they flat-out ignore Right to Work laws. Fortunately these workers decided to fight back, and the National Right to Work Foundation is proud to fight alongside them, because no worker should ever be fired for refusing to pay union fees.”

IAM lawsuit seeks to overturn labor reform that freed Wisconsin workers from being forced to pay union dues to keep a job

Dane County, WI (February 25, 2016) – Today, veteran National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorney Milton Chappell will defend Wisconsin’s Right to Work law in Dane County Circuit Court against a lawsuit filed by International Association of Machinist (IAM) union lawyers. Chappell represents four Wisconsin employees who believe they should not be forced to pay union dues to keep a job. The motion to file an amicus curiae (‘friend of the court’) brief was submitted by attorneys from the National Right to Work Foundation and the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty.

Randy Darty, Tod Momberg, Daniel Sarauer, and Daniel Zastrow are all nonunion employees who work in unionized workplaces. All four wish to safeguard their right to refrain from paying dues to unions to which they don’t belong. Prior to enactment of Wisconsin’s Right to Work law, nonunion private-sector employees could be forced to pay union dues to keep a job.

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 also provided free legal assistance to several Wisconsin civil servants who sought to refrain from paying union dues or fees under Governor Scott Walker’s 2011 public-sector labor reforms.

After Wisconsin’s Right to Work law went into effect on March 11, 2015, 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 Wisconsin law in court from any union legal challenges.

“We are proud to defend Wisconsin’s Right to Work law for the hundreds of thousands of Badger State workers who can no longer be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Our staff attorneys have a great deal of experience defending state Right to Work laws, and we are confident that this latest union legal gambit will not succeed in undermining Wisconsin employees’ newly-enshrined workplace freedoms.”