San Diego, Calif. (August 29, 2002) — With the help of attorneys from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, five employees of the city of San Diego filed a class-action suit against the San Diego Municipal Employees Association (MEA) union and the city government for overtly discriminating against non-union employees.

The five workers- Susan Brannian, Jayne Snowden, David Cornacchia, Leona Gulck, and Jennifer Shen -are suing the MEA union and the city of San Diego for withholding dental and vision insurance coverage from all non-union members, even though they pay for such benefits.

The MEA union’s scheme was designed to pressure employees into signing up as formal union members, thereby causing them to give up certain constitutional rights, including the ability to refrain from funding union political activities.

“The union’s practice of cutting deals with the city that intentionally hang some workers out to dry is deplorable,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “As long as union bosses are given a monopoly on representing employees in the workplace, they will continue to operate with little accountability.”

As part of their suit the workers are asking to be able to participate in dental and vision plans offered by the city to union members. The workers are also seeking to have the suit obtain class certification, which would provide relief to other San Diego city government employees who are not in the union.

“Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Because of the policies imposed and the laws signed by Governor Gray Davis over the past four years, there has been a sharp rise in the number of workers across California being abused by union officials and government bureaucrats,” said Gleason.

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 more than 250 cases nationwide per year.