Union Bosses Forced to Settle Federal Charges After Illegally Levying Retaliatory $7,300 Strike Fine Against Worker
Union Bosses Forced to Settle Federal Charges After Illegally Levying Retaliatory $7,300 Strike Fine Against Worker
Worker fined for exercising his right to refrain from formal union membership
Kansas City, MO (July 3, 2012) – A Honeywell nuclear assembly worker has won a settlement from a local union for retaliating against him for exercising his right to refrain from union membership and continue to work during a union boss-instigated strike.
With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Daniel Gudde filed a federal charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Overland Park, Kansas after union officials levied a $7,361.36 fine against him.
Gudde began working at Honeywell in late September, believing he had to join the International Association of Machinist (IAM) Local Lodge 778 union. In early October, IAM Local 778 union officials instigated a strike. Gudde and three of his coworkers were unsure if they had to go on strike as union members or if they had to fulfill a required 30-day probationary period of employment.
Union officials told Gudde and his colleagues to continue to work to complete the 30-day probationary period.
Union Bosses Forced to Settle Federal Charges After Illegally Levying Retaliatory $7,300 Strike Fine Against Worker
Kansas City, MO (July 3, 2012) – A Honeywell nuclear assembly worker has won a settlement from a local union for retaliating against him for exercising his right to refrain from union membership and continue to work during a union boss-instigated strike.
With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Daniel Gudde filed a federal charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Overland Park, Kansas after union officials levied a $7,361.36 fine against him.
Gudde began working at Honeywell in late September, believing he had to join the International Association of Machinist (IAM) Local Lodge 778 union. In early October, IAM Local 778 union officials instigated a strike. Gudde and three of his coworkers were unsure if they had to go on strike as union members or if they had to fulfill a required 30-day probationary period of employment.
Union officials told Gudde and his colleagues to continue to work to complete the 30-day probationary period. After the probationary period, union bosses obligated Gudde and his coworkers to leave their jobs at the nuclear facility. Union members bound by the union’s constitution and bylaws can be fined for continuing to work during a strike.
After the 30-day period, Gudde learned of his right to resign from full dues paying union membership at any time. He notified the IAM union hierarchy that he was resigning from formal union membership when his 30-day period ended and then returned to work after a couple of days. Workers who refrain from union membership cannot be fined or otherwise disciplined for working during a strike. However, because Missouri does not have a Right to Work law, nonmember workers are still forced to pay a certain part of union dues and fees.
In mid-March, IAM union bosses fined Gudde. Moreover, three coworkers who did not resign from the union but also worked during the 30-day probation period were not fined, thus suggesting the fine was in retaliation for Gudde exercising his rights.
The settlement requires union officials to rescind the fines imposed on Gudde and other employees who worked with union authorization and post a notice in the workplace informing workers of their rights.
«Cynical IAM union bosses retaliated against a worker for exercising his rights to continue providing for himself and his family during a strike, even after they told him to keep working,» said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. «These types of compulsory unionism injustices will continue to occur until Missouri passes Right to Work protections for its workers.»
Update: Supreme Court May Take Foundation Case Challenging SEIU Homecare Forced Unionism Scheme in Fall
This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court took action in another case brought by Foundation staff attorneys. Instead of issuing an order granting or denying cert in the case, the High Court invited the U.S. Solicitor General to file a brief in the case Harris v. Quinn. That request shows that the Justices are interested in the case.
The case stems from a legal challenge initiated by eight Illinois homecare providers with the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys against executive orders issued by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and his disgraced (and now incarcerated) predecessor, Rod Blagojevich.
Quinn and Blagojevich issued executive orders aimed at forcing unwilling homecare providers into a union. Under the Governors’ decrees, personal care providers are considered "public employees" for the purposes of union organizing, a move that has since forced thousands of unwilling care providers into the SEIU’s forced dues-paying ranks.
The providers, including lead plaintiff Pam Harris (interviewed in the video above), are challenging the executive orders on the grounds that forcing them to affiliate with a union and subsidize union activities violates their rights to free expression and association.
The U.S. Supreme Court will now decide whether or not to hear the case this Fall, after the U.S. Solicitor General files a brief.
For more information on the case, check out the Foundation’s Supreme Court petition. You can also read amicus curiae briefs filed in support of the Foundation’s petition from the Cato Institute and the Pacific Legal Foundation.
Flashback: The Union-Label Health Care Bill
With today’s United States Supreme Court decision upholding Obamacare, it’s worth revisiting the hidden privileges to Big Labor contained in the bill.
In August 2009, National Right to Work President Mark Mix wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal about the sweetheart deals for union bosses:
In the heated debates on health-care reform, not enough attention is being paid to the huge financial windfalls ObamaCare will dole out to unions—or to the provisions in the various bills in Congress that will help bring about the forced unionization of the health-care industry.
Tucked away in thousands of pages of complex new rules, regulations and mandates are special privileges and giveaways that could have devastating consequences for the health-care sector and the American economy at large.
…
Americans are unlikely to support granting unions more power than they already have in the health-care field. History shows union bosses could abuse their power to shut down medical facilities with sick-outs and strikes; force doctors, nurses and in-home care providers to abandon their patients; dictate terms and conditions of employment; and impose a failed, Detroit-style management model on the entire health-care field.
ObamaCare is a Trojan Horse for more forced unionization.
Read the rest of the op-ed here.
Worker Advocate Files Amicus Brief in Support of Idaho Ban on Discriminatory Project Labor Agreements
Worker Advocate Files Amicus Brief in Support of Idaho Ban on Discriminatory Project Labor Agreements
Union bosses seek to protect power to discriminate against nonunion workers
Boise, ID (June 27, 2012) – Staff attorneys from the nation’s premier advocate for workers who suffer from the abuses of compulsory unionism have filed an amicus curie brief in support of an Idaho law prohibiting state and local government agencies from imposing so-called project labor agreements (PLAs) that require unionized workers for public projects.
National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys filed the brief today in federal appeals court.
The «Open Access to Work Act» prohibits Idaho and all state governmental units from entering into taxpayer-funded contracts that require union-only workers.
Two building and construction unions challenged the law in U.S. District Court. The lower court’s decision regarding the matter is now being appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Worker Advocate Files Amicus Brief in Support of Idaho Ban on Discriminatory Project Labor Agreements
Boise, ID (June 27, 2012) – Staff attorneys from the nation’s premier advocate for workers who suffer from the abuses of compulsory unionism have filed an amicus curie brief in support of an Idaho law prohibiting state and local government agencies from imposing so-called project labor agreements (PLAs) that require unionized workers for public projects.
National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys filed the brief today in federal appeals court.
The «Open Access to Work Act» prohibits Idaho and all state governmental units from entering into taxpayer-funded contracts that require union-only workers.
Two building and construction unions challenged the law in U.S. District Court. The lower court’s decision regarding the matter is now being appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Last week, Foundation attorneys successfully overturned a Ninth Circuit of Appeals decision, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) violated the rights of nonunion state employees in the Knox case.
Foundation attorneys argue in their brief that not only does the Idaho law pass Constitutional muster under the U.S. Constitution, it also prevents state-sanctioned discrimination against the vast majority of construction workers who refrain from union membership.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 85 percent of America’s construction workers and 94 percent of Idaho’s workers refrain from formal union membership.
«The stats don’t lie, Idahoans’ choice regarding unionization is clear,» said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. «Unfortunately, union bosses are seeking a judicial bailout to stifle competition and protect their preferential treatment from pro-forced unionism public officials.»
Two other states have passed laws prohibiting union-only contracts from public projects – Iowa and Michigan. Michigan’s law is also being challenged before a federal appeals court.
Federal Agency to Prosecute SEIU and Local Hospital for Rigging Union Card Check ‘Vote’
Federal Agency to Prosecute SEIU and Local Hospital for Rigging Union Card Check ‘Vote’
Union organizers enter into corrupt agreement with hospital to force healthcare workers into union ranks using coercive card check tactics
Orange, California (June 27, 2012) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Regional Director in Los Angeles has authorized the issuance of a complaint against a major healthcare union and hospital officials for forcing workers to accept an unwanted union in the workplace.
With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, Marlene Felter of Costa Mesa filed charges with the NLRB after Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Workers West officials and Chapman Medical Center colluded to illegally rig a union organizing «vote» to pave the way for the union to claim to «represent» the workers.
SEIU officials and Chapman Medical Center management entered into a backroom deal, known as a so-called «neutrality agreement,» in which company officials granted union operatives access to company facilities to conduct a coercive «card check» organizing campaign, and waived the right to have a federally-supervised secret ballot election to determine whether employees wished to be unionized. Union organizers frequently use «card check» organizing tactics to bribe, browbeat, or cajole workers into forced-union-dues payments against their will.
Federal Agency to Prosecute SEIU and Local Hospital for Rigging Union Card Check ‘Vote’
Orange, California (June 27, 2012) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Regional Director in Los Angeles has authorized the issuance of a complaint against a major healthcare union and hospital officials for forcing workers to accept an unwanted union in the workplace.
With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, Marlene Felter of Costa Mesa filed charges with the NLRB after Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Workers West officials and Chapman Medical Center colluded to illegally rig a union organizing «vote» to pave the way for the union to claim to «represent» the workers.
SEIU officials and Chapman Medical Center management entered into a backroom deal, known as a so-called «neutrality agreement,» in which company officials granted union operatives access to company facilities to conduct a coercive «card check» organizing campaign, and waived the right to have a federally-supervised secret ballot election to determine whether employees wished to be unionized. Union organizers frequently use «card check» organizing tactics to bribe, browbeat, or cajole workers into forced-union-dues payments against their will.
In response to the union’s coercive tactics, a majority of hospital workers signed cards, letters, and petitions stating that they did not want the SEIU bosses’ so-called «representation.» Instead of respecting the employees’ wishes, Chapman officials accepted SEIU officials as the workers’ monopoly bargaining agents after a rigged «card count» was held. Chapman and SEIU officials were in the process of negotiating a contract which almost certainly would include a provision to force the workers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment, because California does not have a Right to Work law that makes union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary.
The NLRB Regional Office subpoenaed records from SEIU and found merit to Felter’s charges. The agency will prosecute the union and hospital if a settlement is not reached. Such settlement will, of necessity, include rescission of the union’s representational status at Chapman.
«Chapman and SEIU officials have colluded to shove SEIU union bosses’ ‘representation’ – and with it forced dues payments – down workers’ throats,» said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. «Schemes like this show that the ultimate goal of union officials is more forced dues collected from workers, even when rank-and-file employees want nothing to do with the union. This further makes the case that California desperately needs a Right to Work law on the books making union affiliation completely voluntary.»
Government Union Officials Sic Collection Agency on Unsuspecting Public Defender for Illegal Forced Dues
Government Union Officials Sic Collection Agency on Unsuspecting Public Defender for Illegal Forced Dues
Worker unaware of union officials’ so-called representation; case shows need for state Right to Work law
Albuquerque, NM (June 26, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a public defender from the Alamogordo office of the New Mexico Public Defender Department has filed a charge against a local union for wrongfully charging her with failure to pay union dues for the past five years.
Nancy Fleming filed the charge with the New Mexico Public Employee Labor Relations Board against American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) New Mexico Council 18 union for illegally trying to confiscate forced union dues payments from her paycheck without notifying her that she was in the union’s monopoly bargaining unit and refusing to follow federal disclosure requirements.
Fleming was unaware that AFSCME Council 18 union officials’ claimed to «represent» her and was never asked if she wanted to be a member or pay union dues or fees to the union. However, Fleming began to receive notices earlier this year from a collection agency stating that the union reported her delinquent in paying union dues or fees dating back to 2006.
Government Union Officials Sic Collection Agency on Unsuspecting Public Defender for Illegal Forced Dues
Albuquerque, NM (June 26, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a public defender from the Alamogordo office of the New Mexico Public Defender Department has filed a charge against a local union for wrongfully charging her with failure to pay union dues for the past five years.
Nancy Fleming filed the charge with the New Mexico Public Employee Labor Relations Board against American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) New Mexico Council 18 union for illegally trying to confiscate forced union dues payments from her paycheck without notifying her that she was in the union’s monopoly bargaining unit and refusing to follow federal disclosure requirements.
Fleming was unaware that AFSCME Council 18 union officials’ claimed to «represent» her and was never asked if she wanted to be a member or pay union dues or fees to the union. However, Fleming began to receive notices earlier this year from a collection agency stating that the union reported her delinquent in paying union dues or fees dating back to 2006.
Because New Mexico does not have Right to Work protections making union affiliation completely voluntary, workers who refrain from formal union membership may still be forced to pay part of union dues to keep their jobs. However, federal case law requires union officials to inform nonmember workers of where their union dues are being spent.
In New Mexico, union officials often report workers who do not make union dues payments to a collection agency, opening the door for unsuspecting workers to find themselves being harassed by a collection agency for payment of union dues when they did not even know their workplace was unionized.
«AFSCME union bosses are charging an unsuspecting worker for ‘representation’ she did not even know existed until a collection agency harassed her for delinquent payments,» said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. «Thanks to biased federal and state laws, union officials are the only private individuals who can claim to ‘represent’ someone and then demand payment from them – but union officials must at least inform workers of their rights before they do so.»
“To prevent these types of forced unionism abuses in the future, New Mexico desperately needs to pass a Right to Work law making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary,” added Mix.
Twenty-three states have Right to Work protections for workers. Recent public polling shows that nearly 80 percent of Americans and 80 percent of union members support the Right to Work principle of voluntary unionism.
