Right to Work Foundation attorneys filed a motion to intervene for pro-Right to Work Greenbrier hotel employee who opposes mandatory union dues

Charleston, WV (December 5, 2016) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, an employee at the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia has filed a motion to intervene in the ongoing lawsuit concerning the recently passed West Virginia Right to Work Law.

Reginald Gibbs, a slot machine technician at the Greenbrier, seeks to intervene in the court case AFL-CIO v. Tomblin that is currently before the Kanawha County Circuit court. The unions’ complaint challenges the West Virginia Right to Work law enacted in February 2016.

Gibbs’ motion argues that, if the law is overturned or blocked by a judicial order, it would force Gibbs to continue to pay fees to a union with which he does not wish to associate. Mr. Gibbs wishes to intervene to support the law because he believes that it is his right to be free from compulsory unionism, and as a worker currently employed at a location with a compulsory unionism agreement, he will suffer from direct harm if union lawyers win their case.

Although the State of West Virginia is already defending the law in the case, the motion notes that Gibbs has a special interest in defending Right to Work and his attorneys can offer legal arguments distinct from those raised by state lawyers.

“Big Labor’s latest attack on the Right to Work comes in a state where there is overwhelmingly support for the measure,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “That’s why we’re committed to defend the rights of workers against any attempt to delay or overturn West Virginia’s law making union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary.”

Foundation attorneys have already filed two amicus briefs defending the law in this court battle. Foundation attorneys argue that West Virginia’s law is fully constitutional as are the 25 similar state Right to Work laws that are currently in force.

“This lawsuit is very similar to the cases now pending in Wisconsin and Idaho,” continued Mix. “Big Labor’s lawyers are pushing to find any possible loophole they can use to attack worker freedom to protect the union bosses’ forced dues cash flow.”

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.