Wisconsin Civil Servants File Federal Appeals Brief Supporting Governor’s Public-Sector Unionism Reforms

Workers ask court to uphold reform measure protecting most Badger State public workers from forced unionism

Madison, WI (June 6, 2012) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation and the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, three Wisconsin public employees have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to uphold all of Governor Scott Walker’s public-sector unionism reform measures, known as «Act 10.»

Pleasant Prairie teacher Kristi Lacroix, Waukesha high school teacher Nathan Berish, and trust fund specialist at the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds Ricardo Cruz filed the brief yesterday.

The workers, who are forced to accept the «representation» of union officials, want instead the freedom to represent themselves with their employers. The workers are challenging a lower court judge’s ruling to strike down Wisconsin’s new union recertification requirements and the ban on the use of taxpayer funded-payroll systems to collect union dues for general employees.

Read the entire release here.

Madison, WI (June 6, 2012) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation and the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, three Wisconsin public employees have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to uphold all of Governor Scott Walker’s public-sector unionism reform measures, known as «Act 10.»

Pleasant Prairie teacher Kristi Lacroix, Waukesha high school teacher Nathan Berish, and trust fund specialist at the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds Ricardo Cruz filed the brief yesterday.

The workers, who are forced to accept the «representation» of union officials, want instead the freedom to represent themselves with their employers. The workers are challenging a lower court judge’s ruling to strike down Wisconsin’s new union recertification requirements and the ban on the use of taxpayer funded-payroll systems to collect union dues for general employees.

The workers stated in their initial brief in the district court that «they equate the ‘services’ provided by (union officials) to be akin to those of some itinerant street window washers who sling dirty water on your car windshield, smear it around, and then demand payment» and do not feel the state should be the bagman for union officials.

In their brief, the workers ask the appellate court to uphold the law as constitutional, relying on the Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court Davenport v. WEA victory in which the Supreme Court unanimously held that union bosses enjoy an «extraordinary power» to force workers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment, but have no constitutional right to use government resources to deduct union dues or fees from workers’ paychecks.

Meanwhile, three additional Wisconsin civil servants continue to defend Walker’s reforms against union challenges in other cases pending before state and federal courts. Christopher King and Carie Kendrick filed an amicus curiae brief opposing another legal challenge to the legislation in federal court; while Eli Grajkowski, a veteran Wisconsin educator, filed a similar brief in state court.

«Union bosses from across the state of Wisconsin are fighting tooth and nail to strike down any limit to their power,» said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. «No worker should ever be forced to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment, which is why Wisconsin should go a step further by passing Right to Work protections to protect all Badger State employees from forced union affiliation.»

Local Bus Driver Moves to Disqualify Phony Obama ‘Recess Appointees’ from Federal Case

National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys again argue that NLRB does not have legitimate quorum to hear cases

Seattle, Washington (June 5, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, a Sandy, Oregon, bus driver has filed a motion seeking to disqualify President Obama’s purported recess appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from his case.

The legal challenge is part of an ongoing controversy over the constitutionality of Obama’s move to install three NLRB members as «recess appointees» despite the fact that the U.S. Senate was not in recess.

Read the entire release here.

Seattle, Washington (June 5, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, a Sandy, Oregon, bus driver has filed a motion seeking to disqualify President Obama’s purported recess appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from his case.

The legal challenge is part of an ongoing controversy over the constitutionality of Obama’s move to install three NLRB members as «recess appointees» despite the fact that the U.S. Senate was not in recess.

In January 2011, First Student bus driver Richard Harmon resigned from formal union membership in Teamsters Local 206. Because Oregon does not have Right to Work protections making union affiliation completely voluntary, Harmon is still forced to pay part of forced union dues to keep his job.

Despite Harmon’s resignation, Local 206 union officials ignored his resignation and continued to confiscate full union dues from his paychecks, failed to inform workers of their right to refrain from formal union membership, and failed to provide a legally-required independently-audited breakdown of union expenditures informing workers of what union dues and fees they can be forced to pay.

In September 2011, Harmon forced a settlement of his unfair labor practice charge with Local 206 union officials. However, union officials continued to refuse to provide an adequate audited breakdown of local and other affiliate union expenditures. Harmon filed another charge in late December.

As a result, the Seattle NLRB regional office issued a federal complaint on March 30 against Local 206 union officials for violating the settlement’s terms and on April 3 moved for a default judgment against the union. The motion for default judgment is now pending before the NLRB in Washington, D.C.

«Barack Obama’s so-called recess appointments to the Labor Board clearly violate the U.S. Constitution,» said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. «Because the Board does not have a legitimate quorum, it must cease hearing all cases until a legitimate quorum is established.»

Foundation attorneys also were among the first to challenge the constitutionality of Obama’s «recess appointments» in federal court. Two Foundation-supported cases in which the appointments are being challenged are pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Workers West organizers in Orange County, California are turning up the heat on healthcare workers who want nothing to do with the union.

SEIU officials have been trying to unionize workers at Chapman Medical Center through a backroom deal known as a "neutrality agreement" designed to grease the skids for workers to be forced into union ranks.

The agreement was anything but "neutral:" Company officials granted union operatives access to company facilities to conduct a coercive "card check" organizing campaign in which union organizers pressure workers to fill out cards that count as votes for union control of the workplace. Meanwhile, Chapman waived the right to have a federally-supervised secret ballot election to determine whether employees really wish to be unionized.

SEIU organizers then resorted to harassing late night phone calls, blocking workers’ driveways while they were heading to work, bribing workers with food to sign "cards" that would later count as "votes," and stalking workers.

Now, SEIU organizers are sneaking in without identification through the back door of the medical center’s jam-packed cafeteria and refused to leave when approached by hospital administration, human resources, and even workers.

Eventually workers had to resort to calling the police to remove the unwanted SEIU militants from their workplace.

"This is just getting out of hand," one concerned worker told the National Right to Work Foundation.

If you are experiencing union intimation, harassment, or violence at the hands of union organizers or union officials, contact the National Right to Work Foundation for help right away.

Union Bosses Set Forest Fire Captain’s Religious Rights Ablaze

Union officials and state play God with firefighter’s rights

San Francisco, CA (May 21, 2012) – A California Department of Forestry fire captain has filed a religious discrimination charge against the California Department of Forestry Firefighters (CDFF) union for violating his statutory right to refrain from paying forced union dues to support a union hierarchy involved in activities he considers immoral.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, Susanville firefighter John Valentich filed the charge against the CDFF union with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission located in San Francisco.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act forbids discrimination against religious employees and requires companies and unions to attempt to reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely-held religious beliefs. The obligation to accommodate applies to the payment of compulsory union fees, as no employee should be forced to fund a union that engages in activities that offend their religious convictions.

Read the entire release here.

San Francisco, CA (May 21, 2012) – A California Department of Forestry fire captain has filed a religious discrimination charge against the California Department of Forestry Firefighters (CDFF) union for violating his statutory right to refrain from paying forced union dues to support a union hierarchy involved in activities he considers immoral.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, Susanville firefighter John Valentich filed the charge against the CDFF union with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission located in San Francisco.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act forbids discrimination against religious employees and requires companies and unions to attempt to reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely-held religious beliefs. The obligation to accommodate applies to the payment of compulsory union fees, as no employee should be forced to fund a union that engages in activities that offend their religious convictions.

Because California does not have a Right to Work law, nonmember workers can be forced to pay union dues and fees. However, employees who have a sincere religious objection to supporting a union – regardless of church affiliation – may divert their compulsory union dues to a charity instead.

Valentich, who has sincere religious beliefs which bar him from joining or paying money to the CDFF union, asked union officials for a religious accommodation that would allow him to redirect his union fees to a mutually agreed-upon charity. The union’s lawyer told Valentich that he was not a member of a church authorized for accommodation by California law, and therefore he was not entitled to an accommodation.

«It is outrageous that union officials and state bureaucrats get to decide which religions are state-approved and which are not,» said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. «If someone has a sincere religious objection to supporting a union thought to be immoral, his or her rights should be respected.»

«This case provides another reason why California desperately needs to pass Right to Work protections for its workers making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary.»

Security Guards Hit SEIU Local with Federal Charges

17 nonunion employees say union officials forced them to pay more dues than actual union members because they asserted their rights

San Francisco, CA (May 18, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, six security guards have filed unfair labor practice charges for themselves and 11 others against Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 24/7. The 17 nonunion employees allege that SEIU officials forced them to pay more union dues than actual SEIU members in retaliation for filing earlier charges against the union . . .

Click here to read the rest.

San Francisco, CA (May 18, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, six security guards have filed unfair labor practice charges for themselves and 11 others against Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 24/7. The 17 nonunion employees allege that SEIU officials forced them to pay more union dues than actual SEIU members in retaliation for filing earlier charges against the union.

The guards are all employed by Guard Maintenance Services Corporation, which is party to a monopoly bargaining agreement with Local 24/7. Because California lacks a Right to Work law making union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary, nonunion employees can be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment.

In February 2012, the guards reached a settlement with SEIU officials regarding an earlier round of unfair labor practice charges. The settlement required the union to provide employees with an audited breakdown of its expenditures and allow nonunion workers to opt out of paying for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining.

Despite this agreement, union officials failed to provide the guards with any details about their expenditures and sent conflicting information about how much money they could be forced to pay. Union officials then raised the fee for nonunion employees to a level that exceeds the amount paid by full SEIU members; a move the guards allege was retaliation for the first round of unfair labor practice charges.

The guards’ charges will now be investigated by a regional office of the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency which administers private sector labor law.

“SEIU bosses are trying to keep nonunion workers in line by forcing them to pay more union dues than actual union members,” said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The NLRB should put a stop to this illegal scheme immediately, but the best solution is a California Right to Work law, which would make union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary.”

National Workplace Advocacy Group Launches Charter School Initiative

Union bosses fail to block charter school education, now seek to make charter schools part of forced unionism empire

Washington, DC (May 16, 2012) – The nation’s premier advocate on behalf of workers impacted by forced unionism across the country has launched a new initiative to assist charter school teachers and other charter school employees exercise their rights so they can make informed decisions about unionization.

Led by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, the National Right to Work Foundation’s Charter School Initiative will help charter school teachers and support personnel in the face of expanding efforts by union officials to unionize America’s charter schools.

All charter school employees are entitled to certain constitutional and statutory rights. Unfortunately, these rights are not automatically provided. To enjoy many of the benefits of these protected rights, an employee may first have to assert his or her entitlement to them.

Read the entire release here.