Every employee in the workplace signed petition for vote to oust Indiana Carpenters Union, but Regional NLRB officials are blocking the election

Crown Point, IN (March 4, 2021) – Mike Halkias and his coworkers at Neises Construction Corp. in Crown Point, Indiana are subject to monopoly “representation” by officials of the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters union (IKORCC). Every bargaining unit member has exercised the right under Indiana’s Right to Work law to decline formal union membership and to refuse to pay any union dues or fees, but union officials still have the authority under federal law to “negotiate” with Neises for the employees despite their objections to that representation.

With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Halkias submitted a decertification petition to Region 13 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), signed by every member of his unit, to remove IKORCC officials from their workplace.

Despite unanimous agreement by the unit’s workers to hold a vote to oust IKORCC bosses, Region 13 officials rejected the decertification petition. The Board is demanding that the Indiana employer bargain with IKORCC bosses, even though none of its employees want the union to “represent” them.

So far union officials have stymied the vote through “blocking charges,” unfair labor practice charges filed by union lawyers that, before they are resolved, prevent a vote from taking place. Union officials claim the vote cannot proceed until the company negotiates “in good faith” with the union. However, under federal law it is illegal for an employer to engage in monopoly bargaining with a union that it knows lacks the support of at least a bare majority of workers.

The NLRB Regional official’s order dismissing the employees’ petition did not even address that every employee in Mr. Halkias’ bargaining unit has demonstrated a desire to be independent from the union by resigning union membership and asking for a decertification vote.

The Foundation staff attorneys who represent Halkias have appealed to the NLRB in Washington to overturn the rejection of the decertification petition and to allow the workers to vote so they can be rid of the union whose so-called representation they oppose.

“It is outrageous that federal law forces workers under a union’s so called ‘representation,’ despite clear evidence that every single worker wants the union gone,” said National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix. “The fact that this appeal is even necessary demonstrates how rigged federal law is against independent-minded workers seeking to exercise their right not to associate with a union.”

“This case is a reminder that, while Right to Work states provide critical protections for workers against being forced to fund a union they oppose, federal law still forces workers under union monopoly control even when those employees oppose the union and believe they would be better off without it.”

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.