Another Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Obama Labor Board Recess Appointments

Purported recess appointments were invalid because Senate was not in recess

Washington, DC (May 16, 2013) – Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit struck down one of President Barack Obama’s purported «recess appointments,» dating back to March 27, 2010. Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down two other Obama so-called «recess appointments» to the Board.

Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation, issued the following statement in light of the court’s decision:

«Today, another federal appeals court has invalidated one of President Barack Obama’s so-called ‘recess appointments’ to the National Labor Relations Board. As National Right to Work Foundation attorneys have argued in several courts, the Obama ‘recess appointments’ have clearly violated the U.S. Constitution.

«As a result, the Board has lacked a quorum since at least August 2011, and under a U.S. Supreme Court precedent established in New Process Steel, L. P. v. NLRB (2010), the Board’s biased and decidedly pro-Big Labor rulings since then are therefore invalidated. Over 1,500 NLRB decisions may be invalid as a result. This underscores the constitutional chaos this President has created by gaming the system for union bosses.

Click here to read the full release.

Washington, DC (May 16, 2013) – Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit struck down one of President Barack Obama’s purported «recess appointments,» dating back to March 27, 2010. Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down two other Obama so-called «recess appointments» to the Board.

Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation, issued the following statement in light of the court’s decision:

«Today, another federal appeals court has invalidated one of President Barack Obama’s so-called ‘recess appointments’ to the National Labor Relations Board. As National Right to Work Foundation attorneys have argued in several courts, the Obama ‘recess appointments’ have clearly violated the U.S. Constitution.

«As a result, the Board has lacked a quorum since at least August 2011, and under a U.S. Supreme Court precedent established in New Process Steel, L. P. v. NLRB (2010), the Board’s biased and decidedly pro-Big Labor rulings since then are therefore invalidated. Over 1,500 NLRB decisions may be invalid as a result. This underscores the constitutional chaos this President has created by gaming the system for union bosses.

«Today’s decision is a victory for independent-minded workers who have received unjust treatment at the hands of the pro-forced unionism NLRB over the last few years.»

The NLRB «recess appointment» that has been invalidated by today’s ruling is Craig Becker’s (2010-2012). The «recess appointments» of Richard Griffin (2012-present) and Sharon Block (2012-present) were earlier held invalid by the D.C. Circuit.

For a breakdown of the number of cases that could be invalidated by the courts’ rulings, click here.

Teamster Union Faces Charges for Papering Over Indy Domtar Workers’ Rights

Union and company officials ignore Indiana’s Right to Work law

Indianapolis, IN (May 15, 2013) – Six Indianapolis-area Domtar Paper Company (NYSE: UFS) workers have filed federal charges against a local Teamster union and the company for violating their right to refrain from dues-paying union membership.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Broatus Lambert, Lawrence Langworth, Christopher McKay, Kenneth Rosenfeld, Kevin Schrader, and William Schwier filed the unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The six workers all exercised their right under Indiana’s recently-enacted Right to Work law to refrain from membership and dues payments in the Teamster union-affiliated Graphic Communications International (GCI) Union, Local 17M. Under Indiana’s Right to Work law, no worker can be required to pay union dues as a condition of employment.

Click here to read the full release.

Indianapolis, IN (May 15, 2013) – Six Indianapolis-area Domtar Paper Company (NYSE: UFS) workers have filed federal charges against a local Teamster union and the company for violating their right to refrain from dues-paying union membership.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Broatus Lambert, Lawrence Langworth, Christopher McKay, Kenneth Rosenfeld, Kevin Schrader, and William Schwier filed the unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The six workers all exercised their right under Indiana’s recently-enacted Right to Work law to refrain from membership and dues payments in the Teamster union-affiliated Graphic Communications International (GCI) Union, Local 17M. Under Indiana’s Right to Work law, no worker can be required to pay union dues as a condition of employment.

As such, GCI Local 17M union officials no longer have the power to compel nonmember Domtar Paper workers to pay union dues.

Despite the workers’ union membership resignations, Domtar Paper continues to confiscate and GCI Local 17M union officials continue to accept full union dues from their paychecks.

«Teamster union officials are extracting full union dues from workers who want to exercise their rights under Indiana’s popular new Right to Work law,» said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. «This illegal action must stop.»

Nurse Union Faces Federal Suit for Selling out Workers

Union organizers’ intimidation sways outcome of unionization election

Massillon, OH (May 14, 2013) – Four local nurses have filed a federal lawsuit against the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) union for violating its duty of fair representation by striking a backroom deal with company management in exchange for its assistance with unionizing its nurses.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Affinity Medical Center nurses Cinda Keener, Susan Kelley, Ryan Chizmadia, and Katherine Manfull filed the lawsuit with the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division in Akron.

NNOC union organizers and Community Health Systems (CHS) management entered into a «neutrality agreement» designed to help the union organizers impose monopoly bargaining on all the nurses at Affinity and at least two other CHS hospitals. In the agreement, union organizers were given preferential access to the facility and conducted a «quicksnap» unionization election.

Click here to read the full release.

Massillon, OH (May 14, 2013) – Four local nurses have filed a federal lawsuit against the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) union for violating its duty of fair representation by striking a backroom deal with company management in exchange for its assistance with unionizing its nurses.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Affinity Medical Center nurses Cinda Keener, Susan Kelley, Ryan Chizmadia, and Katherine Manfull filed the lawsuit with the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division in Akron.

NNOC union organizers and Community Health Systems (CHS) management entered into a «neutrality agreement» designed to help the union organizers impose monopoly bargaining on all the nurses at Affinity and at least two other CHS hospitals. In the agreement, union organizers were given preferential access to the facility and conducted a «quicksnap» unionization election.

At Affinity, non-employee union organizers stalked, reported on, and attempted to get company management to retaliate against nurses who exercised their rights to oppose the unionization of their workplace. Company officials, at the behest of NNOC union bosses, even made one of the nurses who opposed unionization document the activities of fellow nurses who campaigned against unionization. The unionization election was «officially» decided by 4 votes with an additional 7 votes contested.

Two of the Affinity nurses are contesting the results of the election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), pointing out that the secret deal between Affinity and NNOC union officials, combined with the intimidation of nurses who spoke out against unionization, likely affected the outcome of the union vote. However, the nurses have been repeatedly denied a chance to challenge the forced unionization of their hospitals by NLRB Regional Director Frederick Calatrello.

In their lawsuit, the four Affinity nurses allege that the NNOC union hierarchy acted in bad faith and violated its duty of fair representation by illegally pre-negotiating nurses’ benefits and working conditions in exchange for company assistance, keeping the terms of the agreement and other negotiations concealed from the nurses in the lead up to the election, and accepting illegal assistance from the company to unionize the nurses.

«Nurses at three separate hospitals have been stripped of their rights to oppose forced unionism in their workplace,» said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. «Medical professionals shouldn’t be subjected to backroom deals that give union operatives preferential treatment at the expense of employees’ workplace rights.»

«Because Ohio does not have a Right to Work law, Affinity’s nurses may now be compelled to pay union dues and fees to a union hierarchy that clearly does not have their best interests at heart,» added Mix. «That is why Ohio should pass Right to Work protections for its workers.»

In an ongoing Foundation case, seven additional Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) workers have filed federal charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against a Chicago-area Machinist union for violating their rights and levying retaliatory strike fines against them.

The seven workers join 41 other workers who have filed similar charges to date with free legal assistance from Foundation attorneys. The charges come after International Association of Machinists (IAM) District Lodge 851 union bosses ordered over 800 Joliet, Illinois Caterpillar workers on strike. Over a hundred workers continued to work despite the IAM union boss-instigated strike.

Under federal law, workers who are not voluntary union members are exempt from the union hierarchy’s constitution and bylaws and thus cannot be disciplined for continuing to work during a union boss-ordered strike. However, IAM Local 851 union bosses recently levied fines totaling over a million dollars against the workers for continuing to work during the strike.

Two workers’ charges were settled in December, and the remaining 46 workers whose cases have not been resolved all allege that they were never truly voluntary union members. Multiple workers allege that union militants also threatened them with violence, and one alleges that union militants physically assaulted his wife and child.

For more information about this and other Right to Work Foundation cases, please stay tuned to the Foundation’s Freedom@Work blog.

Update 5/10/13: With free legal assistance from the Foundation, two more workers filed charges on May 10. This brings the total charges to date to 50, 48 of which are pending with the NLRB.

Ravenswood Steelworker Union Hierarchy Faces Federal Charges in Wake of Strike Intimidation

Union officials threaten workers who refused to abandon their jobs

Ravenswood, WV (May 9, 2013) – Four Constellium Rolled Products workers have filed federal charges against a local Steelworker union in the wake of last summer’s union-instigated strike against the company.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, the Constellium employees filed the unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The four workers resigned their union membership in the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 5668 union before they continued to work during the strike. Under federal law, workers who refrain from union membership are exempt from the union hierarchy’s constitution and bylaws and thus cannot be disciplined for continuing to work during a union boss-ordered strike.

In late March, the four workers received threatening letters from USW Local 5668 union officials stating that the union hierarchy intends to levy retaliatory strike fines against the workers at «the maximum penalty allowed.» Union officials also stated that the workers will be placed «at the bottom of the seniority list,» which is a clear violation of federal labor law.

Click here to read the full release.

Elkton, MD (May 10, 2013) – On Monday, the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Acting General Counsel issued a complaint against IKEA and the International Association of Machinist (IAM) District Lodge 4 union for failing to inform employees at the company’s Elkton, Maryland facility of their rights to refrain from union membership and the payment of full union dues, and threatening to have them fired for refusing to pay up.

The complaint is a result of unfair labor practice charges filed with the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys by IKEA employees Herman Brunswick, Jr., Kelvin Smith, Shawn Rojas, and Robert Rammel in January and February 2013.

In Maryland and other states without Right to Work laws, employees can be required to pay union dues just to get or keep a job. However, workers also have the right to refrain from formally joining a union and opt out of paying for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as members-only events and political activism.

Not only did IAM officials and IKEA fail to notify IKEA employees of their rights, they actively misled the employees about their obligations to the union. IAM officials claimed that joining the union and paying full dues were required as a condition of employment. Faced with the prospect of losing his job, Brunswick agreed to join the IAM and sign a form authorizing the collection of full dues from his salary.

When Brunswick asked about his right to refrain from financially supporting the IAM’s political activities, he was told by union officials that he had no such rights. After he learned otherwise, Brunswick resigned from the union and objected to paying for union political activities.

What little material union officials provided to IKEA employees about their rights was deliberately obscured. Union officials printed information on employees’ right to refrain from full dues-paying membership on the back of a pink piece of paper in tan ink, making it virtually invisible.

The Acting General Counsel’s complaint seeks a workplace notice informing all IKEA employees in the bargaining unit of their right to refrain from union membership and the payment of full union dues. The complaint also seeks to require the union to allow all nonmembers to exercise their right to opt out of paying full dues immediately and provide retroactive reimbursement remedies to all employees in the facility who do so.

A hearing before a federal labor judge has been set for July 24.

“Union officials actively kept IKEA employees in the dark about their rights in order to collect more forced dues cash for the IAM’s coffers,” said Patrick Semmens, National Right to Work Foundation Vice President for Public Information. “Independent-minded workers will continue to face similar schemes until Maryland passes a Right to Work law, which would ensure that union membership and dues payment are completely voluntary.”

Ravenswood, WV (May 9, 2013) – Four Constellium Rolled Products workers have filed federal charges against a local Steelworker union in the wake of last summer’s union-instigated strike against the company.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, the Constellium employees filed the unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The four workers resigned their union membership in the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 5668 union before they continued to work during the strike. Under federal law, workers who refrain from union membership are exempt from the union hierarchy’s constitution and bylaws and thus cannot be disciplined for continuing to work during a union boss-ordered strike.

In late March, the four workers received threatening letters from USW Local 5668 union officials stating that the union hierarchy intends to levy retaliatory strike fines against the workers at «the maximum penalty allowed.» Union officials also stated that the workers will be placed «at the bottom of the seniority list,» which is a clear violation of federal labor law.

Because West Virginia does not have Right to Work protections making union affiliation completely voluntary, the four workers are still forced to pay part of union dues to keep their jobs. However, under the Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court precedent upheld in Communication Workers v. Beck, workers who refrain from union membership cannot be forced to pay for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as politics and political lobbying. Despite this Court precedent, USW Local 5668 union officials continue to extract full union dues from the workers’ paychecks.

«USW union bosses are trying to punish workers who had the courage not to toe the union boss line and instead provide for their families,» said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. «Workers should not be forced to abandon their jobs and be denied their right to provide for themselves and their families at the whim of militant union bosses.»

«This case underscores the need for a state Right to Work law making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary,» added Mix.

Twenty-four states have Right to Work protections for employees. Public polling shows that nearly 80 percent of Americans and union members support the principle of voluntary unionism.