Airline Workers’ Federal Class-Action Suit Seeks to Ground Union Boss Forced Dues Powers

Relying on landmark Knox Supreme Court decision, workers seek to roll back union boss power to collect forced dues

Dallas, TX (June 27, 2013) – Six airline workers have filed a federal class-action lawsuit that seeks to expand workers’ right to refrain from paying union dues in light of last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in Knox v. SEIU Local 1000.

Five American Eagle Airlines baggage handlers from Texas and a Southwest Airlines flight attendant from Maryland filed the lawsuit with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas.

The workers all are not members of the Transport Workers Union of America (TWUA). However, the workers must still accept the TWUA hierarchy as their monopoly bargaining representative even though they are prohibited from voting on the union’s bargaining agreement or participating in union meetings. Additionally, federal labor law empowers union officials to extract union dues and fees from the workers as payment for their so-called «representation.» If the workers refused to pay union dues or fees, they would be terminated from their jobs.

Last year, the Supreme Court suggested in its Foundation-won Knox v. SEIU ruling that it was ready to reassess whether union bosses’ forced dues powers, which it called «something of an anomaly,» violate workers’ First Amendment rights. Responding to that suggestion, the workers’ lawsuit seeks to eliminate forced unionism in America.

Click here to read the full release.

Dallas, TX (June 27, 2013) – Six airline workers have filed a federal class-action lawsuit that seeks to expand workers’ right to refrain from paying union dues in light of last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in Knox v. SEIU Local 1000.

Five American Eagle Airlines baggage handlers from Texas and a Southwest Airlines flight attendant from Maryland filed the lawsuit with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas.

The workers all are not members of the Transport Workers Union of America (TWUA). However, the workers must still accept the TWUA hierarchy as their monopoly bargaining representative even though they are prohibited from voting on the union’s bargaining agreement or participating in union meetings. Additionally, federal labor law empowers union officials to extract union dues and fees from the workers as payment for their so-called «representation.» If the workers refused to pay union dues or fees, they would be terminated from their jobs.

Last year, the Supreme Court suggested in its Foundation-won Knox v. SEIU ruling that it was ready to reassess whether union bosses’ forced dues powers, which it called «something of an anomaly,» violate workers’ First Amendment rights. Responding to that suggestion, the workers’ lawsuit seeks to eliminate forced unionism in America.

Alternatively, the airline workers seek to expand to all union forced fees allocated to politics and other non-bargaining activities Knox‘s ruling that a union may not exact special assessments or mid-year dues increases from nonmembers without their affirmative consent. Currently, nonmembers must pay full union dues – including the portion used for union politicking – unless they affirmatively object.

The workers are also challenging the TWUA union bosses’ burdensome requirements that workers must annually opt out of paying full union dues. The suit also attacks the TWUA union’s rebate scheme, under which full dues are taken from the paychecks of nonmember workers who pay the forced union fees by payroll deduction, giving the union officials a forced loan for up to four months that can be used for political activities.

«Union bosses have abused their extraordinary government-granted power to automatically compel workers to fund their political activities unless workers object – a power granted to no other private organization in our country – for far too long,» said Mark Mix, president of National Right to Work. «The First Amendment right of workers who refrain from union membership to automatically refrain from paying union dues at all and especially for politics is long overdue.»

Paris Las Vegas Casino Union Bosses Play High Stakes Game with Worker’s Legal Rights

Union officials threaten nonmember worker with benefits cuts unless she pays union dues

Las Vegas, NV (June 26, 2013) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino worker has filed a federal charge against a local union for violating her right to refrain from union affiliation.

Nani Sugianto filed the federal unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last week against the Culinary Workers Union Local 226.

According to the charge, after union brass signed a new contract with the hotel, a union steward illegally threatened Sugianto that she would lose all of her benefits and her seniority, and would be required to start over again as a new hire, unless she paid union dues even though she is not a union member.

Click here to read the full release.

Las Vegas, NV (June 26, 2013) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino worker has filed a federal charge against a local union for violating her right to refrain from union affiliation.

Nani Sugianto filed the federal unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last week against the Culinary Workers Union Local 226.

According to the charge, after union brass signed a new contract with the hotel, a union steward illegally threatened Sugianto that she would lose all of her benefits and her seniority, and would be required to start over again as a new hire, unless she paid union dues even though she is not a union member.

Under Nevada’s Right to Work law, workers cannot be forced to pay union dues or fees as a condition of their employment.

«Workers’ rights are not a casino game,» said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. «We call on the NLRB to call the union officials’ bluff and stop these outrageous threats.»

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.

Hospital Worker to Testify at Congressional Hearing Regarding SEIU Card Check Coercion

Worker advocate says National Labor Relations Board has failed to protect workers who wish to refrain from union affiliation

Washington, DC (June 26, 2013) – An Orange County, California hospital worker and her National Right to Work Foundation staff attorney will testify today before a U.S. House subcommittee about the need for workers to be able to choose free from coercion whether they want a union hierarchy in their workplace.

Marlene Felter, a Chapman Medical Center worker who led an effort to stave off unwanted Service Employees International Union (SEIU) boss «representation» from her workplace, and attorney Glenn Taubman, who has over 30 years of experience on the Foundation’s legal staff, will testify before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions at 10:00 AM.

Click here to read the full release.

Washington, DC (June 26, 2013) – An Orange County, California hospital worker and her National Right to Work Foundation staff attorney will testify today before a U.S. House subcommittee about the need for workers to be able to choose free from coercion whether they want a union hierarchy in their workplace.

Marlene Felter, a Chapman Medical Center worker who led an effort to stave off unwanted Service Employees International Union (SEIU) boss «representation» from her workplace, and attorney Glenn Taubman, who has over 30 years of experience on the Foundation’s legal staff, will testify before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions at 10:00 AM.

Felter will highlight the need for the Secret Ballot Protection Act, sponsored by Congressman David Roe (R-Tenn.), while testifying about her personal experiences dealing with a coercive SEIU card check unionization campaign.

Felter and her coworkers were a target of an SEIU card check unionization scheme after SEIU Healthcare Workers West and Chapman Medical Center officials entered into a backroom deal known as a «neutrality agreement» designed to grease the skids for workers to be forced into union ranks. In the agreement, management granted union operatives access to company facilities and waived the right to have a federally-supervised secret ballot election to determine whether workers 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.

The Secret Ballot Protection Act guarantees workers a secret ballot vote in union elections. The subcommittee will also hear testimony regarding the Representation Fairness Restoration Act, which would invalidate the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)’s policy of allowing union militants to target and organize small units of workers if they know most employees at a workplace don’t want to join the union.

«Time and again, Barack Obama’s NLRB has failed to protect workers who wish to refrain from union affiliation and forced dues payments,» said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. «Congress needs to reign in Obama’s out-of-control NLRB.»

Portland, OR (June 26, 2013) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a local UPS employee has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against Teamsters Local Union No. 81. Steven Swenson alleges that union officials failed to provide him with legally required information about the amount of union dues that he has to pay as a condition of employment. When Swenson refused to pay up until he received proper information, Teamster bosses responded by threatening to suspend him from work.

In Oregon and other states without Right to Work laws, employees can be forced to pay union dues just to keep a job. However, workers have the right to refrain from paying for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as political activism and members-only events. Union officials are required by law to provide nonmembers with an independently-audited breakdown of union expenditures to help them determine how much they can be forced to pay.

In January 2013, Swenson notified the union that he was resigning his membership and exercising his right to opt out of any dues unrelated to workplace bargaining. In May, Swenson received letters from the union indicating the amount of money he was expected to pay as a nonmember. However, the union never provided Swenson with any information about how they arrived at the fees they were charging him.

When Swenson refused to pay until he received information on the union’s expenditures, Teamster bosses demanded he comply with their forced dues exaction or be suspended from work. Swenson paid under protest what the Teamsters claimed he owed to keep his job.

Swenson’s charges will now be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency responsible for administering private sector labor law.

“Teamster bosses failed to provide Steven Swenson with any information about the dues he was being charged. When he refused to pay up until they complied with their legal obligations, they thuggishly threatened his livelihood,” said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “These abusive practices demonstrate the need for an Oregon Right to Work law, which would ensure that nonunion workers don’t have to pay any dues to unions they want nothing to do with.”

Washington, DC (June 25, 2013) – The National Right to Work Foundation, a charitable organization that provides free legal assistance to employees nationwide, is joining the Nevada Policy Research Institute and a host of other organizations to commemorate National Employee Freedom Week. The weeklong event is dedicated to informing employees across the country of their rights to refrain from union membership and the payment of full union dues.

Employee Freedom Week was originally conceived by the Nevada Policy Research Institute as a way to reach employees who may be unaware of or misinformed about their workplace rights. As a leading organization dedicated to fighting compulsory unionism, the National Right to Work Foundation has been involved in efforts to raise employee awareness of their rights to refrain since its founding in 1968.

The Foundation has distributed video segments online explaining worker rights, broadcast public service announcements on radio programs across the country, and published numerous opinion pieces in local and national outlets on the importance of informing workers about their rights to refrain from union membership and the payment of full union dues.

Moreover, Foundation staff attorneys have litigated for workers in all 50 states to enforce employees’ rights to opt out of union membership. In fact, the scofflaw union that originally inspired National Employee Freedom Week – the Clark County Education Association – was once the target of a Foundation unfair labor practice charge aimed at helping a Nevada teacher resign his union membership.

Foundation attorneys have won several significant Supreme Court cases that limit Big Labor’s forced-dues powers and protect workers’ rights to refrain from union activity. Last year, Foundation attorneys won the Knox v. SEIU Supreme Court case, establishing an important legal precedent outlined in the decision’s majority opinion: «When a public sector union imposes a special assessment or dues increase, the union must provide [a notice of the purpose of the assessment or increase] and may not exact any funds from nonmembers without their affirmative consent.» Because of that case, SEIU bosses must soon refund over $8 million in illegally-seized fees (including interest) to nonunion employees.

“Thanks in part to Big Labor, which thrives on misleading employees, many workers are simply unaware of their rights to refrain from union membership and the payment of full union dues,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. “In fact, workers in the 24 states with Right to Work laws cannot be required to pay any union dues as a condition of employment.”

“It’s vital that workers are informed of these important rights, and National Employee Freedom Week is a great way to spread the message,” continued Mix.

Supreme Court to Hear National Right to Work Foundation Case Challenging Backroom Union Organizing Deal

Right to Work legal challenge could determine if companies are allowed to hand over sensitive employee information to aggressive union organizers

Washington, DC (June 24, 2013) – Today, the United States Supreme Court announced that it is granting a writ of certiorari in Mulhall v. UNITE HERE, a case that could determine if companies are allowed to hand over workers’ personal information to union organizers in exchange for union concessions, among other things.

In 2004, UNITE HERE Local 355 and Mardi Gras Gaming entered into an agreement in which union officials promised to spend over one hundred thousand dollars on a gambling ballot initiative and guaranteed not to picket, boycott, or strike against Mardi Gras facilities.

In return, Mardi Gras agreed to give union operatives employees’ personal contact information (including home addresses) and grant access to company facilities during a coercive ‘card check’ organizing campaign, refrain from informing workers about the downsides of unionization, and refrain from requesting a federally-supervised secret ballot election to determine whether employees unionized.

Click here to read the full release.

Washington, DC (June 24, 2013) – Today, the United States Supreme Court announced that it is granting a writ of certiorari in Mulhall v. UNITE HERE, a case that could determine if companies are allowed to hand over workers’ personal information to union organizers in exchange for union concessions, among other things.

In 2004, UNITE HERE Local 355 and Mardi Gras Gaming entered into an agreement in which union officials promised to spend over one hundred thousand dollars on a gambling ballot initiative and guaranteed not to picket, boycott, or strike against Mardi Gras facilities.

In return, Mardi Gras agreed to give union operatives employees’ personal contact information (including home addresses) and grant access to company facilities during a coercive ‘card check’ organizing campaign, refrain from informing workers about the downsides of unionization, and refrain from requesting a federally-supervised secret ballot election to determine whether employees unionized.

With the help of Foundation staff attorneys, Mardi Gras Gaming employee Martin Mulhall filed a lawsuit challenging this organizing pact in 2008. Under the Labor Management Relations Act, employers are prohibited from handing over «any money or other thing of value» to union organizers, a provision that is supposed to prevent union officials from selling out workers’ rights in exchange for corporate concessions. Mulhall argued that the company’s concessions were of substantial monetary value because they made UNITE HERE’s organizing drive easier and less expensive.

Mulhall won a significant victory last spring, when the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the company’s organizing assistance could constitute «a thing of value.» UNITE HERE lawyers quickly appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, prompting Foundation attorneys to file a cross-petition asking the Court to review certain aspects of the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling.

Foundation attorneys believe that the Eleventh Circuit’s decision was too narrowly tailored to prevent companies from aiding union organizers with valuable concessions. The Supreme Court will now revisit whether the company’s organizing assistance constitutes «a thing of value.»

«We hope the Supreme Court will expand upon the Eleventh Circuit’s landmark ruling and ensure that union organizers can’t cut backroom deals with management,» said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. «Companies shouldn’t be allowed to turn over employees’ personal information to unscrupulous Big Labor organizers as a negotiating tactic.»