Alpena, Mich. (March 17, 2004) — Local officials of the Boilermakers union at the Besser Company factory in Alpena have decided to cease collecting forced union dues from nonunion workers rather than provide such workers with a legally mandated audit of how their forced dues are spent.

The decision by the union hierarchy comes in response to unfair labor practice charges filed by James Martin, a Besser Company employee, at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) Union Local D-472 in September 2003. Martin alleged that IBB union officials illegally continued to charge him full dues after he resigned his formal union membership. They also failed to provide an adequate breakdown of union expenditures to ensure that his forced dues did not fund union activities unrelated to collective bargaining, such as electoral politics.

In a settlement agreement finalized late last week, IBB union officials agreed to post notices at the work site informing workers that they would implement a procedure notifying members of the total amount of dues owed, as well as the reduction objecting nonmembers would receive. Rather than perform the required audit of the union’s books and records, IBB union officials decided to abandon altogether their policy requiring nonmembers to pay any union dues as a condition of employment, and they agreed to notify employees to that effect.

“This union hierarchy decided to forgo raiding the paychecks of nonmembers rather than open their books and subject their dealings to public scrutiny,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation.

The actions of IBB union officials had violated the Foundation-won Communications Workers v. Beck and related U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Under Beck, workers may resign from formal union membership and halt and reclaim the portion of forced union dues spent on activities unrelated to collective bargaining, such as union politics, lobbying, and public relations. Objecting workers are entitled to an independent audit to verify they are not subsidizing such activities.

“No one should be forced to pay compulsory dues to a union, especially when its officials continually abuse that federally granted special privilege,” stated Gleason. “Until all Michigan workers are freed from forced unionism, workers will continue suffering this type of abuse at the hands of self-serving union officials.”

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.