Union boss policies illegally prevented nonunion drivers from finding work on ABC Lifetime’s Army Wives television show

Washington, DC (October 14, 2015) – After six years of legal maneuvering, Teamster Local 509 union officials are finally paying a worker more than $55,000 in pay he lost when the union prevented him from working.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision awarding back pay to television employee Thomas Coghill. Faced with a longshot appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, Teamsters Local 509 will pay the backpay owed, with interest, for its discrimination which took place in 2009.

This ends a lengthy legal battle between the worker and union bosses in Charleston, South Carolina. The case began when Coghill, an ABC driver who received free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB.

Teamster Local 509 union officials had a monopoly bargaining agreement with ABC in South Carolina that forced workers to go through the union’s exclusive hiring hall to get a job during production of ABC’s show, Army Wives. Coghill – a member of a different Teamster local from North Carolina– was hired as a driver during the show’s first two seasons after demand for drivers outpaced the number of drivers that Local 509 could refer.

As more Local 509 members became available to work during the show’s third season, Teamster officials limited its referral list, and refused to add Coghill to that list. Coghill was denied work on the third season of Army Wives.

Coghill responded to Local 509’s hiring procedure by filing unfair labor practice charges against the union on the grounds that federal labor law prohibits union officials from discriminating against nonunion employees. National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys helped Coghill recoup more than $55,000 in back pay.

“Thomas Coghill will finally receive the justice he deserves,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “This case shows that a worker is not free from union intimidation and discrimination just because he or she is in a Right to Work state. Union officials will try every trick in the book to discriminate against employees who refuse to toe the union line.”

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.