Labor Board blocked workers’ vote to kick out union and issued complaint against employer for honoring petition by a majority of workers opposed to union presence

Florence, SC (September 29, 2015) – Brenda Lynch and Anna Marie Grant, both employees at Johnson Controls, Inc.’s battery plant in Florence, South Carolina, have filed a motion to intervene with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in an ongoing case involving the union that formerly represented employees in their workplace. Lynch and Grant are receiving free legal aid from NRTW Foundation staff attorneys.

Earlier this month, the NLRB General Counsel issued a formal complaint against Johnson Controls, Inc., a nationwide company, related to its Florence plant. The complaint alleges that Johnson Controls committed an unfair labor practice when it withdrew recognition of the workplace union, United Auto Workers (UAW) and its Local 3066.

However, the company withdrew recognition of the UAW and Local 3066 after a majority of workers submitted a withdrawal petition declaring they no longer wanted the union’s “representation.” The NLRB General Counsel, however, deemed the withdrawal petition invalid and demanded that the UAW be brought back into the plant.

In response to these developments, Lynch, who with several others helped organize the withdrawal initiative, submitted to the NLRB a decertification petition for a secret ballot election to formally remove the union. Rather than hold a secret ballot vote to determine employees’ true desires, the NLRB, at the UAW’s urging, has blocked the secret ballot decertification election citing the pending complaint against the company.

Now, to protect their (and all other employees’) workplace right to refrain from union representation, Lynch and Grant have moved to intervene, seeking full participation in the case. The case has been set for trial on November 16, 2015. If granted intervenor status, Lynch and Grant will, through their attorneys, be able to represent their own interests, and those of the majority of employees who oppose the UAW, at trial. They will have the power to testify, call and examine witnesses, and present legal and factual arguments to protect their and other employees’ rights to disassociate from an unwanted union.

“Brenda Lynch and her colleagues in South Carolina simply sought to exercise their workplace rights, and now must conquer daunting legal hurdles put in place by a Big Labor-stacked NLRB,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation.

“Intervenor status is absolutely critical for Brenda and her fellow workers to properly and adequately defend and protect their workplace rights. These workers have said they want nothing to do with the union. It’s just common sense that they should be able to present their case because their rights are at issue,” continued Mix.

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.