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.

Jeffersonville, IN (May 8, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a Sectek, Inc. security guard has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against International Guards Union of America (IGUA) Local 143 after a union official threatened to have him fired and denied his attempt to stop paying for union political lobbying.

Michael Cragwall attracted the union’s ire when he posted a petition on a workplace bulletin board dissenting from a union official’s letter to several congressmen and senators calling for relaxed training and safety standards. The official responded by threatening to kick Cragwall out of the union and have him fired from his job.

Disillusioned by the union’s so-called “representation,” Cragwall notified IGUA officials on April 20 that he was resigning his membership and opting out of paying for union dues unrelated to workplace bargaining.

Although Indiana’s recently-enacted Right to Work law states that no employee can be required to pay union dues as a condition of employment, forced dues contracts between unions and employers entered into prior to the effective date of the law remain in force throughout the state. In such workplaces, nonunion employees like Cragwall are only permitted to opt out of paying for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as political lobbying.

Union officials are also required to provide an audited breakdown of their expenditures to help nonunion employees determine exactly what they can be forced to pay for to keep their jobs. However, IGUA officials refused to provide any information about their expenses to Cragwall. They also claimed that the union does not engage in any political lobbying, despite the fact that the dispute arose over a letter a union official wrote to several political office-holders.

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

“We hope the NLRB will intervene promptly to stop union officials from taking anymore of Mr. Cragwall’s hard-earned money,” said Patrick Semmens, legal information director for the National Right to Work Foundation. “Fortunately, Indiana’s newly-enacted Right to Work law will ensure Mr. Cragwall is one of the last Hoosiers who can be forced to pay union dues or fees just to keep a job.”

Honolulu, HI (May 10, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys, a Hyatt Regency employee has filed another round of federal unfair labor practice charges against the UNITE HERE Local 5 union.

Steven Taono doesn’t belong to Local 5 but can still be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment because Hawaii lacks a Right to Work law. However, the Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent Communication Workers v. Beck holds that nonunion employees cannot be forced to pay for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as political lobbying or members-only activities.

In December 2011, Taono received a breakdown of union financial expenditures from Local 5. According to the union’s books, he was forced to contribute to a variety of activities outside the scope of workplace negotiations, including UNITE HERE political lobbying and a union strike fund.

Taono’s charges follow similar allegations raised last week by two other Honolulu hotel workers, who also contend that union officials forced them to pay for union political activism.

The charges will now be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency charged with administering private sector labor law.

“Once again, UNITE HERE bosses have demonstrated how little regard they have for workers’ rights,” said Patrick Semmens, legal information director for the National Right to Work Foundation. “The only permanent solution to chronic union law-breaking is a Hawaii Right to Work law, which would ensure that no employee can be forced to join or pay dues to a union.”

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.

The National Right to Work Foundation’s Charter School Initiative aims to enlighten charter school employees so that they can make decisions about union representation in an atmosphere free of union boss threats, harassment, coercion or misrepresentation.

Foundation attorneys have developed free educational materials for charter school teachers and employees and are available to provide free legal assistance to workers who may need it.

«Union bosses have decided that if they can’t stop the growth of charter schools, then they might as well try to force their employees under a union monopoly,» said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. «Of course this could prove disastrous for charter school teachers and students nationwide and we are prepared to defend charter school workers from the injustices of forced unionism.»