Washington, DC (February 13, 2013) – Ray LaJeunesse, Vice President and Legal Director of the National Right to Work Foundation, testified today before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce about the need to more vigorously enforce employees’ rights to refrain from funding union politics.
LaJeunesse, who has over 40 years of experience on the Foundation’s legal staff and has argued four cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, repeatedly criticized the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for its lax enforcement of the rights of workers who wish to refrain from union affiliation. Under the Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent Communication Workers v. Beck, private sector employees have the right to refrain from paying for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as members-only events and union political activism.
Deconstructing Communications Workers v. Beck... whatever money the union bosses want, they get.
[NOTE: It is recommended that you send this letter to both the union and your employer by certified mail, return receipt.][Date][insert Name of appropriate union officer][insert Name of union][insert Address of union]Dear [insert Name of appropriate union officer]:I am employed by [Name of employer] in the Right to Work state of Michigan. I write to notify you that I do not want to be a member of the union. If your records indicate that I am currently a union member, I hereby resign my membership in the union and all of its affiliates effective immediately.I also notify you that I want to pay only those union dues and fees that I can be lawfully compelled to pay as a condition of my employment under Michigan law, and nothing more.
