Federal Settlement Awards Johnson Controls Worker Six Months of Illegally-Seized Union Confiscations

Case underscores needs for Right to Work protections

Sycamore, IL (February 6, 2015) – A local Johnson Controls, Inc. worker has won a federal settlement from the United Auto Workers (UAW) union hierarchy and the company for violating his right to refrain from paying union dues and fees used for union officials’ politics.

The settlement comes in the wake of federal charges Johnson Controls employee Thomas Hayden filed with legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

Hayden, who has exercised his right under federal labor law to refrain from formal union membership, must accept the exclusive representation of UAW, and its Local 1268, union officials. Because Illinois does not have Right to Work protections for workers, nonmember workers like Hayden can be forced to pay a part of union dues and fees.

Click here to read the full release.

Sycamore, IL (February 6, 2015) – A local Johnson Controls, Inc. worker has won a federal settlement from the United Auto Workers (UAW) union hierarchy and the company for violating his right to refrain from paying union dues and fees used for union officials’ politics.

The settlement comes in the wake of federal charges Johnson Controls employee Thomas Hayden filed with legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

Hayden, who has exercised his right under federal labor law to refrain from formal union membership, must accept the exclusive representation of UAW, and its Local 1268, union officials. Because Illinois does not have Right to Work protections for workers, nonmember workers like Hayden can be forced to pay a part of union dues and fees.

However, under the Foundation’s U.S. Supreme Court victory in Communications Workers v. Beck, employees can refrain from paying for politics and many other union activities.

Even though Hayden received letters from UAW Local 1268 union officials in 2013 and 2014 stating that they would recognize his right to refrain from paying for dues used for union politicking and other nonbargaining activities, Johnson Controls continued to deduct, and Local 1268 union officials continued to accept, full union dues from his paychecks for about a year.

Hayden then filed federal unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Peoria challenging the illicit dues deductions.

Per the settlement’s terms, Johnson Controls and Local 1268 union officials will refund Hayden $133 for six months of illegally-seized union dues, plus interest. The union hierarchy must also post a notice in the workplace informing other workers of their right to refrain from dues-paying union membership.

“It took federal charges to force this company and UAW union officials to finally cease their illegal forced-dues confiscations,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “This case demonstrates that Illinois desperately needs a Right to Work law, which would make union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary.”

Twenty-four states have Right to Work protections for private-sector workers. Public polling shows that nearly 80 percent of Americans and union members support the Right to Work principle of voluntary unionism.

SEIU Faces Federal Prosecution for Violating Local Security Guards’ Rights

Case underscores need for Right to Work protections for California’s workers

San Francisco, CA (February 6, 2015) – The San Francisco-based Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 24/7 is facing a federal prosecution for violating local security guards’ rights.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Universal Protection Service security guard Daniel Ozabuki filed an unfair labor practice charge for himself and seven other guards against the union alleging a litany of rights abuses.

Click here to read the full release.

San Francisco, CA (February 6, 2015) – The San Francisco-based Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 24/7 is facing a federal prosecution for violating local security guards’ rights.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Universal Protection Service security guard Daniel Ozabuki filed an unfair labor practice charge for himself and seven other guards against the union alleging a litany of rights abuses.

The guards are all employed by Universal Protection Service, which has been party to a monopoly bargaining agreement with Local 24/7 since the company took over for the previous security contractor, Guard Maintenance Services Corporation. Guard Maintenance Services also had a monopoly bargaining agreement with the union.

Because California 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 refrain from union membership can also refrain from paying for union politics and members-only events.

Ozabuki and at least four other security guards have refrained from union membership for several years. In February 2012, some of the then-Guard Maintenance Services workers reached a settlement with SEIU officials regarding an earlier round of charges. The settlement required that union officials allow nonmember workers to opt out of paying for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining.

However, since SEIU officials entered into a contract with Universal Protection, union officials have again forced the workers into full dues payments despite the workers’ repeated attempts to refrain.

Three additional workers have detailed how SEIU officials kept them in the dark about their right to refrain from formal union membership and full dues payments.

The NLRB now has found merit to the workers’ charges and issued a complaint against the SEIU officials.

“SEIU bosses are resorting to deception to force workers into full dues paying union ranks,” said Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The best solution to break the SEIU bosses’ pattern of rights abuses is for California to enact a Right to Work law making union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary.”

UPS Seasonal Worker Receives $0 Paycheck After Company Illegally Seizes Dues for Teamster Union

Worker files federal charge to challenge illegal union dues payment

Stockton, CA (February 4, 2015) – A former seasonal United Parcel Service (UPS) employee has filed a federal charge against the company after it illegally confiscated Teamster union dues from his salary, leaving him with a paycheck of $0.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Santiago Olmos filed the unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Shortly after Olmos was hired as a seasonal employee for the Christmas delivery rush, he attended UPS training on December 8, 2014. At the meeting, a UPS manager told all of the employees in attendance that they were required to join the Teamster Local 439 union and pay union dues.

Click here to read the full release.

Workers to Have Fourth Vote on Whether to Remove Union after Ballot Box Stuffing Taints Third Vote

Case underscores workers’ difficulty in removing unwanted unions from their workplaces as workers take fourth vote in response to blatant irregularities in third election

Hamilton, AL (February 3, 2015) – Workers in a local parts manufacturing plant are voting a fourth time in a federally-supervised union election after union officials skirted being kicked out of the workplace in a recent election tainted by ballot stuffing and mishandling of ballots.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will conduct the fourth election after NTN-Bower Corporation employee Ginger Estes, who is receiving free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, filed objections to the tainted third election.

United Auto Workers (UAW) union officials currently hold monopoly bargaining power over 140 NTN-Bower manufacturing workers. Ginger Estes and other employees at the plant requested an election with the NLRB in 2013 to determine whether to remove the UAW union from their workplace.

Click here to read the full release.

Hamilton, AL (February 3, 2015) – Workers in a local parts manufacturing plant are voting a fourth time in a federally-supervised union election after union officials skirted being kicked out of the workplace in a recent election tainted by ballot stuffing and mishandling of ballots.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will conduct the fourth election after NTN-Bower Corporation employee Ginger Estes, who is receiving free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, filed objections to the tainted third election.

United Auto Workers (UAW) union officials currently hold monopoly bargaining power over 140 NTN-Bower manufacturing workers. Ginger Estes and other employees at the plant requested an election with the NLRB in 2013 to determine whether to remove the UAW union from their workplace.

After workers cast ballots in the first election, union and company officials agreed to set aside that election and allow the workers to vote in a second election. In the second election, workers voted to remove the union by a margin of two votes. Union officials challenged the results of that election, and a 2-1 panel of the Obama Labor Board voted to invalidate the results and schedule a third election.

On January 16, 2015, workers voted a third time to determine whether to remove the UAW union from their workplace. Even though 139 workers voted in the third election out of the 140 eligible, 148 ballots were cast. UAW union officials skirted being kicked out of the workplace by a small margin.

After Estes formally challenged the results of the tainted third election, the NLRB and all parties agreed to hold a fourth election.

“This is a good example of a rigged election characterized by obvious ballot box stuffing and mishandling of ballots,” said Mark Mix, president of National Right to Work. “This case underscores the difficulty workers often experience when trying to remove unwanted unions from their workplaces.”

Kroger Workers Win Hundreds in Federal Settlement After Grocery Union Bosses Ignore Right to Work Protections

UFCW bosses stonewalled Fort Wayne grocery workers’ attempts to cut off forced dues confiscations

Fort Wayne, IN (February 2, 2015) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, two Fort Wayne Kroger workers have won a settlement after filing federal charges against a local union for ignoring their right to refrain from paying union dues.

In September 2014, Eleanor Haynes and Barbara Peter filed the unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union Local 700.

Click here to read the full release.

Fort Wayne, IN (February 2, 2015) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, two Fort Wayne Kroger workers have won a settlement after filing federal charges against a local union for ignoring their right to refrain from paying union dues.

In September 2014, Eleanor Haynes and Barbara Peter filed the unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union Local 700.

Haynes and Peter resigned from the union and revoked their dues deduction authorizations – a document used by union officials to automatically collect dues from workers’ paychecks – effective with the expiration of the union’s contract with their employer. Under federal labor law, workers can unconditionally revoke their dues deduction authorizations when a contract between the union and their employer terminates. Under Indiana’s popular Right to Work law, no worker can be required to join or pay any money to a union.

Despite the workers’ efforts to exercise their rights, UFCW Local 700 union officials continued to confiscate union dues payments from their paychecks.

Per the terms of the settlement, Kroger and Local 700 union officials will refund Haynes $197.21 and union officials will refund Peter $169.73 in illegally-seized union dues, plus interest. The union hierarchy must also post a notice in the workplace informing other workers of their right to refrain from dues-paying union membership.

“These two Kroger workers followed all necessary procedures to exercise their legally-protected right to resign their union membership and cut off union dues to no avail,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Local 700 union officials relented and acknowledged these workers’ rights only after the workers filed federal charges.”

“This case underscores just how important Indiana’s Right to Work law is for workers who want nothing to do with scofflaw union bosses,” added Mix.

Twenty-four states have Right to Work protections for private-sector workers. Public polling shows that nearly 80 percent of Americans and union members support the Right to Work principle of voluntary unionism.