St. Louis, Missouri (December 7, 2005) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has agreed to prosecute the Miscellaneous Drivers, Helpers, Health Care & Public Employees Union Local 610 for illegally threatening the jobs of two Amerigas Eagle Propane (Amerigas) employees at the company’s Hazelwood facility. Local 610 union officials unlawfully threatened to have the two workers fired after failing to inform them of their rights and demanding that they pay full union dues.

The complaint stems from unfair labor practice charges filed by Vernon Mathis and Dewitt Mitchell at the NLRB with help from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys in June. In those charges, Mathis and Mitchell asserted that union officials failed to inform Amerigas employees of their right to refrain from formal union membership and not to be forced to pay dues beyond the union’s proven collective bargaining costs.

Furthermore, union officials threatened to have the workers fired if they did not pay full union dues, including dues for their first month of employment by Amerigas. However, Mathis and Dewitt had not formally joined the union and could not be legally compelled to pay any union dues until after their initial month of employment. In addition, union officials threatened that once the workers were fired, they would not be eligible for re-hiring even if they later paid all dues that were demanded of them.

“Union officials have tried to make an example of these two workers so that all employees will think twice before defying union edicts,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the Foundation. “These illegal threats against employees are typical where there is no Right to Work law on the books.”

Because Missouri does not have a Right to Work law, union officials can order the firing of workers who refuse to pay certain union dues.

However, under the Foundation-won Supreme Court decision in Communications Workers v. Beck and subsequent NLRB rulings, union officials cannot require formal union membership or the payment of union dues unrelated to collective bargaining as a condition of employment. Employees are also entitled to notice of their right to refrain from union membership, an independent audit of union expenditures and notice of their right to object to paying for non-bargaining activities, such as union political activities.

The NLRB has scheduled a January 17, 2006 hearing at which the Local 610 union will be prosecuted for violating Mathis’ and Mitchell’s rights.

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.