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.
The brief will be filed today in the Wisconsin State Court of Appeals in response to a lawsuit brought by Machinists Local Lodge 1061, United States Steelworkers District 2, and Wisconsin State AFL-CIO. The brief debunks the union lawyers’ claim that Wisconsin’s Right to Work law represents an “illegal taking of union resources” which they say violates Article 1 Section 13 of the Wisconsin Constitution.
The workers’ filing points out that unions voluntarily assume exclusive representative status; and that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) compensates unions by granting them immense workplace power to impose a one-size-fits-all union contract on all employees – union and nonunion alike – in a union-controlled bargaining unit. Furthermore, unions are not entitled to workers’ dues in the future because the NLRA grants states the power to pass Right to Work laws making these fees voluntary.
The union lawyers’ dubious new argument has already been rejected by a U.S. Court of Appeals and the Indiana Supreme Court when it was raised in cases involving Indiana’s Right to Work law. Right to Work laws have withstood intense legal scrutiny for over 60 years, having been upheld by the United States Supreme Court and every Federal Court and State Appellate Court that has considered them.
“Wisconsin’s popular new Right to Work law provides a simple but essential protection for Wisconsin employees by protecting freedom of choice when it comes to union membership and payment of dues and fees,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Instead of spending so much time fighting worker freedom in court, Wisconsin union officials ought to reflect on why they are so concerned that the very workers they claim to represent will not voluntarily support them when given a free choice.”
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.
