With the help of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, three employees of the Spaulding Composites Company filed charges against union officials for illegally forcing them to pay union dues spent for politics and other non-bargaining activities.

Kathy Pinault and two other employees filed the charges at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the Paper, Allied Industrial, Chemical, and Energy Workers International Union (PACE), Local 1-1424.

The workers’ case highlights the abuse that is common in states like New Hampshire, since it has not yet passed a Right to Work law. A Right to Work law bans the common union practice of forcing employees to pay union dues to get or keep a job.

“Rather than entertain political objections from workers, the union’s officials would prefer that they shut up and pay up,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Without the protection of a Right to Work law, New Hampshire workers are forced to pay compulsory union dues or risk losing their jobs.”

In December 2001, the workers asked the union hierarchy for financial disclosure of union expenditures. PACE officials responded with a document that the union’s own handpicked accountants admitted was not an audit, despite the independent audit requirement handed down by a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in a case brought by Foundation attorneys.

PACE International is one of the most politically active labor unions in the country. 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.

“Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Union bosses routinely try to hide behind misinformation and outright threats to keep workers paying for their political activities,” stated Gleason.

The actions of PACE officials directly violate the Foundation-won Supreme Court decision in Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson, which requires union officials to provide an audited disclosure of their books and justify expenditures made from forced union dues seized from employees who have chosen to refrain from formal union membership.

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.