In response to being illegally fired for refusing to pay union dues for politics, a Huntleigh Corporation employee today filed charges against the Allied Services Division, Transportation Communications International (TCU) union.

With help from the National Right to Work Foundation, Ralph Lanton III filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) after union officials would not provide a breakdown of how his dues were calculated. The union forced the illegal firing of Lanton when he refused to pay full union dues, including dues spent for politics.

Foundation attorneys are also seeking a restraining order to have Lanton reinstated at his job.

“No one should have their career destroyed because the union broke the law,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “How can union officials claim to be on the side of workers when they thwart their ability to make a living?”

In April 2002, TCU officials demanded that Lanton pay an agency fee equal to full union dues or face termination from his job. In response, Lanton asked for a written account of how the union spends workers’ dues and asked for a reduction in the fee because he was not a union member. In violation of the employee’s constitutional and due-process rights established by the U.S. Supreme Court, TCU officials rejected both of these requests and had Lanton fired on June 10.

The actions of TCU officials violated the rights established by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Communications Workers v. Beck decision. Under Beck, a case that Foundation attorneys argued and won, workers who are not protected by a Right to Work law may resign from formal union memberships and halt and reclaim the portion of forced union dues spent on politics and other activities unrelated to collective bargaining.

Every year, union officials seize millions of dollars in compulsory dues to support candidates and causes that many rank-and-file workers find objectionable. Polls have consistently shown that a majority of union members object to having their dues spent for political activities.

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.