New NLRB filing details numerous issues with workers’ election to strip union officials of forced dues powers
Washington, D.C. (September 15, 2023) – A pair of federal unfair labor practice charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by MTAC security guard Benson Sebuabe remain pending with the NLRB. According to the charges, Benson was illegally terminated from MTAC at the behest of union officials in violation of his rights.
The July charges against MTAC and the self-described “Union Rights for Security Officers” (URSO) union are part of a legal dispute over forced union dues at Sebuabe’s workplace. As part of that dispute, on June 5, 2023, Sebuabe filed a deauthorization petition that contained more than enough signatures from his coworkers to trigger an employee vote.
In the petition, MTAC employees seek to strip union officials of their authority to have workers fired for refusing to pay union dues or fees. The vote was conducted via mail ballot over several weeks in August and September. However, when the NLRB announced the results of the vote, it claimed no ballots were received.
That “0-0” vote tally outcome would, if certified, leave URSO officials with the legal authority to force workers to pay up or be fired. In response to the NLRB’s vote tally announcement, Sebuabe’s attorneys have filed objections to the election results citing numerous issues.
The September 13, 2023, filing questions how no ballots were received from workers in light of Sebuabe returning his ballot well ahead of the deadline. The objections also claim union and employer actions violated NLRB standards during the critical period around the vote. Among other things, Sebuabe’s objections note the failure of the employer to provide proper voter lists on time as required by NLRB procedures.
Other objections include the impact created by MTAC’s termination of two supporters of the deauthorization effort. This includes not only the termination of Sebuabe, which is the subject of pending NLRB unfair labor practice charges against both URSO and MTAC, but also the termination of another supporter of the deauthorization petition.
Sebuabe is receiving free legal representation from Foundation staff attorneys both with the exercise of his rights to petition for a vote to “deauthorize” the union officials’ power to require workers to pay dues or be fired, and his unfair labor practice charges against the URSO union and MTAC.
URSO had demanded that MTAC discharge Sebuabe for not paying dues or fees under a forced fee clause. USRO threatened Sebuabe with discharge for not paying compulsory dues and fees before Sebuabe filed his deauthorization petition and demanded his discharge for not making those compulsory payments after he filed the petition.
Sebuabe’s charges allege, among other things, that MTAC and URSO failed to honor Sebuabe’s rights under the U.S. Supreme Court’s CWA v. Beck precedent regarding procedural requirements that union officials must follow if they seek to enforce a mandatory dues requirement. The ULP charges remain pending with the NLRB.
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NOTE: This article updates and replaces a version that first appeared in July reporting on the initial filing of Sebuabe’s NLRB unfair labor practice charges. This article clarifies that Sebuabe’s charge against the URSO union not only alleges his termination was retaliation for supporting the deauthorization effort, but also alleges that his termination was illegal because URSO failed to follow the necessary procedural requirements under the Supreme Court’s CWA v. Beck decision.
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.
