With former Kansas engineer at the helm, membership of citizen group formed to oppose compulsory unionism grew from fewer than 20,000 to 2.2 million

Seattle, WA (September 19, 2016) – Reed Larson, who established the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation in 1968 and was its leader until 2003, and headed the National Right to Work Committee from 1959 until 2003, passed away peacefully late in the evening on Saturday, September 17. His beloved wife, the former Jeanne Hess, had passed away in 2010. Larson is survived by their three daughters, and by nine grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Mark Mix, who took over the presidency of both organizations in 2003, even as Larson continued to fight for the Right to Work cause, serving as executive committee chairman of the Foundation and the Committee for several years, reflected on the passing of Larson, who was 93:

“It is a loss in that we find ourselves a bit empty knowing that a man who developed, expanded, and guided the very organizations we have the privilege of working for is gone. There is peace in knowing that Reed lived a full, fruitful and successful life. And I know he is at peace and in a place that has been prepared for him by his personal Savior.”

In 1954, Reed Larson went on “temporary leave” from his job as an engineer in Wichita to lead the fight to pass a Right to Work law in Kansas. The effort suffered a serious setback the following year, when Gov. Fred Hall broke his campaign pledge by vetoing Right to Work. But this move quickly ended Hall’s political career, and Larson and the thousands of other freedom-loving Kansans he had mobilized didn’t give up. In November 1958, the state’s Right to Work law was finally adopted.

Early the following year, on the basis of his accomplishments in Kansas, Larson was offered the leadership job of executive vice president with the National Right to Work Committee. He accepted. At the time, the then-four-year-old organization had just 20,000 members. By the time Larson stepped down from the presidency, the Committee had 2.2 million members. Today membership stands at 2.8 million.

At the state level, under Larson’s watch the Committee assisted successful efforts to pass new Right to Work laws in four states and played a key role in stymieing dozens of full-scale bids by Big Labor to repeal existing Right to Work laws. At the federal level, the Committee scored a “must-win” victory in 1965-66 over Organized Labor’s Capitol Hill campaign to eviscerate all state Right to Work laws through repeal of Taft-Hartley Section 14(b).

Among the other key defensive victories for Right to Work were the defeats of so-called “common situs picketing” legislation designed to corral independent construction employees into unions (1975-77) and legislation to bar employers from offering permanent jobs to workers hired during strikes (1991-94).

Meanwhile, the Foundation’s efforts to defend the First Amendment rights of independent-minded employees bore fruit with incremental U.S. Supreme Court victories such Ellis v. Brotherhood of Railway, Airline and Steamship Clerks (1984), Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson (1986) and Communications Workers of America v. Beck (1988). Respectively, these decisions empowered transportation, public, and a wide range of private-sector employees to withhold forced-dues payments for all activities unrelated to collective bargaining.

“Government-authorized forced unionism continues to do enormous damage, both to individual workers and to the country. But under Reed Larson’s leadership, the Committee and the Foundation began to roll back the damage,” said Mr. Mix.

“Just since the beginning of 2012, an additional four states have adopted Right to Work laws. By staying the course and continuing to fight forced unionism head on, just as Reed taught us to do, Right to Work forces will ultimately achieve a total victory. I’m confident of that.”

Union officials try to punish Verizon employees who decided to work during union boss-initiated work stoppage

Trenton, NJ & New York, NY (September 19, 2016) – Four Verizon employees have filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and Communications Workers of America (CWA) unions for violating federal labor law after the employees exercised their right to resign their union memberships during the high profile union boss-ordered strike in April. In three of the cases, union officials illegally demanded that the workers appear before union tribunals, so they could fine or otherwise retaliate against the workers for rejecting union boss demands that they abandon their jobs.

In April, IBEW and CWA union officials announced a coordinated work stoppage and ordered workers up and down the East Coast from Massachusetts to Virginia to abandon their jobs. The strike included IBEW Local 827 and CWA Locals 1111 and 1105, which are the subjects of the four NLRB charges.

Soon after CWA and IBEW union officials ordered the strike, three workers, Joseph Todaro, Gregory Sable, and Jackson Thoby chose to resign from their respective locals and return to work. Under federal law a worker cannot be compelled to participate in a union-boss ordered strike. However under a 1972 NLRB ruling, in order 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.

Despite their resignations, these workers were notified by officials of the CWA and IBEW that they were being tried by the unions for violating internal union rules, presumably with the intent to fine them for refusing to heed union boss demands and instead working to support their families. In some similar cases, union bosses have attempted to levy fines as high as $30,000 against workers who exercised their right to continue working during strikes.

A fourth worker, James VanValkenburgh, resigned his union membership and requested that CWA Local 1111 provide him with a Beck notice of his right as a nonmember to pay only the part of dues used for bargaining purposes and allow him to stop paying full dues from the date of his resignation. Local 1111 has so far ignored his resignation and continues to deduct full union dues from his wages.

“Here we see yet another example of union officials trying to punish workers who have exercised their rights to continue working to support their families,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Workers should not be threatened with vigilante vengeance in a union instigated kangaroo court for exercising their right to refrain from full union membership.”

Union officials illegally blocked nurse from resigning formal union membership so they could fine her for working during union-ordered strike

Minneapolis, MN (September 12, 2016) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys, Minnesota nurse Crystal Rehbein has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) union after MNA union officials threatened her with disciplinary action for refusing to abandon her patients and participate in a union boss-initiated strike.

In early June, Rehbein sent a certified letter resigning her membership in the MNA, shortly before the MNA hierarchy announced a weeklong strike. As a non-member, Rehbein then exercised her right to continue work and take care of her patients.

However, shortly after the strike ended, MNA officials sent a letter to Rehbein claiming her attempt to resign her formal union membership was rejected and claiming that she was not allowed to exercise her right to resign from formal union membership without first filling out a new membership application and updating her payment information. The union claim flies in the face of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Pattern Makers v. NLRB decision which held that union members have the right to resign their union membership at any time.

In early August, MNA officials informed Rehbein that internal charges had been brought against her for continuing to work during the strike, and threatened her with fines, reprimand, or censure.

Under previous NRLB and Supreme Court rulings, employees may not be forced to use a particular form to revoke membership or dues checkoff authorizations. Furthermore, under a 1972 ruling, workers who resign their union membership and return to work during a strike may not be fined for a period following their resignation.

“Attempting to drag this brave nurse into a kangaroo court is nothing more than a tired intimidation tactic,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “All workers – including medical professionals – have the right to resign their formal union membership and continue working to support their families. It is a shameful day when union bosses are attempting to discipline a nurse for exercising her rights so she can continue to care for patients.”

Ms. Rehbein’s charges will now be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board.

Union officials blatantly ignore employee’s revocation requests and continue to collect dues in violation of the law

White Cloud, MI (August 29, 2016) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a Newaygo County employee has filed unfair labor practice charges with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) against Teamsters Local Union 214. According to the charges filed by Gordon Alger, union officials continued to collect dues from his paycheck after he had formally notified the union of his decision to opt out of further payments.

Under Michigan’s recently-enacted public sector Right to Work law, no employee can be required to pay union dues as a condition of employment. Forced-dues requirements from union monopoly bargaining contracts prior to passage of the law were grandfathered in, but once those contracts expire, nonunion employees can no longer be required to pay union dues or fees to keep their jobs.

In December 2015, the contract between the Newaygo County Commission on Aging and Teamsters Local 214 expired. Consequently, all employees could thereafter exercise their rights under Michigan’s Right to Work law. Soon after the contract expired, Alger notified the union that he was revoking his dues deduction authorization.

Instead of following the law, union officials responded to Alger’s letter by claiming that the dues checkoff authorization he had signed in 2001, when dues were mandatory, meant that, despite the Right to Work law, he could not stop payments to the union until an annual window period in September. Furthermore, union officials illegally claimed that Alger had to send his revocation letter by certified mail, which imposes extra cost on the sender.

“Once again, union bosses in the Great Lakes State are forcing workers whom they claim to ‘represent’ to jump through numerous legal hoops just to exercise their legal rights under the law,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “This case is particularly egregious because of the multiple lies and falsifications union bosses provided Gordon Alger just so they could collect more forced fees from him for an additional few months.”

Foundation staff attorneys are currently providing free legal assistance to Michigan employees in over 30 cases. Since Michigan passed Right to Work protections for workers in 2012, the Foundation has received numerous legal aid requests from Michigan employees seeking to protect their rights, because union officials have aggressively resisted the laws’ provisions that make union membership and the payment of union dues strictly voluntary.

Watch Foundation President Mark Mix’s Labor Day statement below:

Read the statement here.

Springfield, VA (September 2, 2016) – Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation and the National Right to Work Committee, issued the following statement on the occasion of Labor Day 2016:

“This Labor Day, many Americans will enjoy a well-deserved three day weekend. After the festivities, vacations, and beach trips have ended, however, we should take a step back to examine the injustice of forced unionism that millions of American workers face every day.

“While workplace freedom has made great strides in the past year, including passage of the 26th Right to Work law in West Virginia, millions of American employees remain forced to hand over a portion of their paycheck to union officials. They pay this tribute not because they freely choose to associate with a union, but because government has granted union officials the power to order a worker fired solely for refusing to pay fees.

“With the election season swinging into high gear, the fight for freedom in the workplace faces many challenges. In this election cycle, unions are projected to spend nearly two billion dollars in campaign contributions, lobbying, and other political activities. The vast majority of this money will go to support the chosen candidates of the union elite no matter whom the rank and file member supports.

“Even though polls show union members, like all Americans, strongly support the Right to Work principle that union membership and dues payment should be strictly voluntary, Big Labor is spending millions of dollars collected from rank-and-file employees to undermine Right to Work. In addition to working to elect officials who would expand union boss forced dues powers, union officials are also bankrolling a ballot initiative in South Dakota to repeal that state’s Right to Work law which was adopted over 60 years ago.

“Meanwhile, in the courts, millions of workers’ rights are at stake as Big Labor lawyers have launched a nationwide series of lawsuits claiming that union officials have a Constitutional ‘right’ to force workers to pay them dues. While this radical argument should be laughed out of court, union officials clearly hope that activist judges will ignore longstanding law and legal precedent in order to expand union power. Attorneys for the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation have already stepped in to respond to this new threat and defend Right to Work laws in Idaho, West Virginia and Wisconsin from this coordinated legal attack.

“This Labor Day, as we celebrate hard-working Americans from all walks of life, the National Right to Work community is proud to be working towards the goal of ending forced unionism in America once and for all and restoring the freedoms of the American worker.”

Mix’s statement can be watched here, and the audio can be downloaded here. Mix and other Right to Work experts are also available for comment on a variety of labor-related issues.

UAW officials finally follow law after federal charges are filed

Grand Rapids, MI (August 19, 2016) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, two Grand Rapids Blue Cross & Blue Shield employees have received refunds for illegally seized dues from United Automobile Workers (UAW) Local 2145 union officials. The refund comes in response to federal unfair labor practice charges that were filed by Rayonne Brown and Jennifer Smith against UAW and their employer. According to Brown and Smith, union officials had 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 given to UAW officials. Brown and Smith’s charges, which asked for the return of all illegally-seized union dues with interest, were withdrawn as a result of the refund.

Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, commented, “Unfortunately, the legal hoops that Rayonne Brown and Jennifer Smith have had to jump through just to get union bosses to recognize their rights are all too common in states with recently passed Right to Work laws. The law has to be enforced if employees are to benefit from these new legal protections. With this being an election year, union bosses are desperate to get their hands on as many forced dues as possible”.

“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 were among the over 30 legal cases that have been filed so far 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 in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

National Right to Work Foundation Provides free legal assistance to workers victimized by compulsory unionism 52 weeks a year

Springfield, VA (August 18, 2016) – The National Right to Work Foundation, a charitable organization that provides free legal assistance to employees nationwide, is joining the Nevada Policy Research Institute and a host of other organizations to commemorate National Employee Freedom Week. This weeklong event is dedicated to informing employees across the country of their rights to refrain from union membership and the payment of full union dues.

Since its founding in 1968, the National Right to Work Foundation has been a leading organization involved in the fight to protect workers from the abuse of union bosses and compulsory unionism. The Foundation’s sole, year-long mission is to fight against the injustices of coercive unionism through strategic litigation and education programs.
The Foundation’s sister organization, the National Right to Work Committee is also participating in Employee Freedom Week. The Committee is a 2.8 million member grassroots organization dedicated to ending compulsory unionism once and for all.

The Foundation broadcasts public service announcements on radio programs across the country and publishes numerous opinion pieces in local and national outlets on the importance of informing workers about their rights to refrain from union membership and the payment of full union dues.

Moreover, Foundation staff attorneys have litigated for workers in all 50 states to enforce employees’ rights to opt out of union membership. In just the past 12 months, Foundation staff attorneys provided free legal representation in over 250 active cases. They have also fought to defend and enforce state Right to Work laws, most recently in Wisconsin, and West Virginia where new Right to Work laws are being attacked by union lawyers in court. Foundation staff attorneys have filed amicus curiae briefs in two ongoing cases in Wisconsin as well as 11 cases in West Virginia.

Foundation attorneys have successfully argued several significant Supreme Court cases that limit Big Labor’s forced-dues powers and protect workers’ rights to refrain from union activity. In 2012, Knox v. SEIU established an important legal precedent the prevented union bosses from exacting special dues assessments and increases without a worker’s affirmative consent. In 2014, Harris v. Quinn led to thousands of home health care workers being freed from the shackles of compulsory unionism.

“Unfortunately, Big Labor has waged a successful campaign to deceive many workers into believing they have no rights when it comes to leaving a union or cutting off union dues for politics,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. “In fact, workers in the 26 states with Right to Work protections cannot be required to pay any union fees as a condition of employment.”
“Furthermore, even in the 24 states that haven’t yet passed Right to Work protections, employees have the right to resign their formal union membership and cut off the portion of their dues that is being spent on union politics and lobbying,” continued Mix. “The National Right to Work Foundation stands ready to provide free legal aid to any worker who needs assistance in exercising and defending these critical rights.”

UFCW Union Bosses forced to cease attempts to require CVS employees to join union in violation of federal protections

Columbus, OH (August 11, 2016) – CVS employees in Columbus, Ohio have won a federal settlement in their case against the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 1059 remedying a litany of rights abuses at the hands of union officials.

The settlement comes in the wake of a federal unfair labor practice charge filed by employee Eric Todd, with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, alleging UFCW officials violated his and other CVS employees’ rights. The workers are all employed by CVS Pharmacy, which has a monopoly bargaining agreement with UFCW Local 1059 officials.

Because Ohio lacks a Right to Work law making union membership and dues payments strictly voluntary, workers can be forced to pay union dues and fees as a condition of employment. However, under Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court precedent, workers who become or remain nonmembers have the right to refrain from paying for union politics and members-only events.

Last year, Eric Todd and the other employees of the CVS location in Bexley, Ohio were informed that UFCW Local 1059 was now the exclusive bargaining agent for all local workers after a suspect “card check” drive.

After the introduction of the union, Todd and many other employees were told that they had to sign union membership applications and dues deduction authorizations as a condition of employment. Union agents even came to their CVS store and threatened employees with termination, or being taken off the schedule and not allowed to work, if they failed to comply with the union’s demands.

Despite the deliberate misrepresentation of the Local 1059 union bosses, Todd and several others learned of their legal rights available under CWA v. Beck, a Foundation won case. They then sent non-member dues objection letters to the union, which it completely refused to acknowledge.

Under the settlement, UFCW union officials must respect nonmember workers’ right to refrain from full-dues-paying union membership and refrain from illegal bullying tactics such as threatening loss of employment for refusing to join the union. The union must also mail to each worker a NLRB-mandated notice of their rights.

“These workers were fortunate to have the Foundation’s assistance to make the UFCW back down from their militant bullying tactics,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The best way to end the union bosses’ pattern of rights abuses is for Ohio to enact a Right to Work law making union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary.”

National Right to Work Foundation attorneys counter union suit to restore Big Labor’s power to extort forced dues from unwilling workers

Madison, WI (August 10, 2016) – Staff attorneys with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a charitable organization that provides free legal assistance to employees nationwide, are filing an amicus curiae brief for five workers in defense of Wisconsin’s recently-enacted Right to Work law. The brief is being filed in conjunction with attorneys at the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty.

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