Unionized Probation Officers Win Refunds in Federal Suit over Free Speech Rights

New York public employees desperately need Right to Work protections

Rochester, NY (April 24, 2012) – Four Monroe County probation officers have won relief in their protracted federal legal battle against two government unions for violating their First Amendment rights.

The four officers, led by David Scheffer, filed the suit with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys.

The probation officers sued Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) union and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union for deliberately violating their First Amendment rights by seizing forced union dues from their paychecks for illegal union expenditures. The officers charged that union officials were spending their forced dues on union organizing drives, despite the officers’ objections.

Read the entire release here.

Rochester, NY (April 24, 2012) – Four Monroe County probation officers have won relief in their protracted federal legal battle against two government unions for violating their First Amendment rights.

The four officers, led by David Scheffer, filed the suit with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys.

The probation officers sued Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) union and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union for deliberately violating their First Amendment rights by seizing forced union dues from their paychecks for illegal union expenditures. The officers charged that union officials were spending their forced dues on union organizing drives, despite the officers’ objections.

In 2005, the officers filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York seeking to prevent the further collection of forced union dues and asking for full refunds and punitive damages. The officers won on appeal in the U.S. Appeals Court of the Second Circuit in 2010 when the court found that the CSEA union hierarchy illegally spent workers’ forced dues money on organizing.

One of every ten dollars spent by the CSEA union hierarchy was spent illegally on organizing.

The District Court judge last week ordered CSEA union officials to refund each officer of all illegally-seized union dues and interest.

The officers’ suit initially sought similar relief for all nonmember public employees represented by CSEA union affiliates throughout the State of New York, a number believed to be in the thousands. However, the courts’ decision only gives relief to the four officers in this case.

«Employees should not have to go to federal court to stop use of their forced union dues being illegally spent on union boss politics and organizing,» said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. «However, as long as public employees in New York labor under forced unionism, these abuses by union officials will inevitably continue.»

«This is why New York desperately needs to pass a Right to Work law making union affiliation and dues payments completely voluntary,» added Mix.

Obama Administration Sides with Union Bosses Over Workers in Federal Court Case on Backroom Union Deals

Union officials ignore workers’ repeated requests to resign

Hollywood, FL (April 19, 2012) – The Obama administration is weighing in on a worker’s protracted, precedent-setting federal legal victory against a local union and Mardi Gras Gaming.

The case stems from a legal challenge initiated by Mardi Gras Gaming groundskeeper Martin Mulhall with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation.

In 2008, Mardi Gras officials entered into an agreement with Unite Here Local 355 union officials promising that they would hand over employees’ personal contact information (including home addresses), grant union operatives access to company facilities for the purpose of organizing through a coercive card check campaign, and refrain from speaking about the downsides of unionization. In return, Unite Here Local 355 union officials expended over one hundred thousand dollars to support a gambling ballot initiative and guaranteed not to picket, boycott, or strike against the facility.

Read the entire release here.

Hollywood, FL (April 19, 2012) – The Obama administration is weighing in on a worker’s protracted, precedent-setting federal legal victory against a local union and Mardi Gras Gaming.

The case stems from a legal challenge initiated by Mardi Gras Gaming groundskeeper Martin Mulhall with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation.

In 2008, Mardi Gras officials entered into an agreement with Unite Here Local 355 union officials promising that they would hand over employees’ personal contact information (including home addresses), grant union operatives access to company facilities for the purpose of organizing through a coercive card check campaign, and refrain from speaking about the downsides of unionization. In return, Unite Here Local 355 union officials expended over one hundred thousand dollars to support a gambling ballot initiative and guaranteed not to picket, boycott, or strike against the facility.

Federal law aimed at preventing unions from agreeing to undermine workers’ rights in exchange for concessions from management explicitly prohibits employers from giving «any money or other thing of value» to unions. Mulhall sued Unite Here Local 355 and Mardi Gras in 2008, arguing that the company’s organizing assistance to the union is of substantial monetary value to the union.

In a precedent-setting decision, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit agreed with Mulhall, ruling that organizing assistance can be an unlawful «thing of value.» Union lawyers subsequently petitioned the full court to rehear the case.

Obama Justice and Labor Department officials, along with controversial National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon, now have filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the union lawyers’ position.

«Union bosses are using the power of their bought-and-paid-for White House in an attempt to roll back a major, precedent-setting victory for workers,» said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. «Of course, Obama administration radicals have already proven they will do what they can to support the union bosses’ forced-unionism agenda at workers’ expense.»

Another Osceola Hospital Employee Comes Forward, Hits SEIU with Federal Charge

Union officials ignore workers’ repeated requests to resign

Kissimmee, FL (April 19, 2012) – An Osceola Regional Medical Center employee has joined two of her colleagues and filed a federal charge against a major healthcare union for repeatedly violating federal law by refusing to allow her and her coworkers to exercise their right to refrain from dues-paying union membership under Florida’s popular Right to Work law.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, the worker filed the charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

In December 2011, she sent a letter notifying Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Workers East officials that she was exercising her right to resign from union membership. Instead of acknowledging her request, SEIU officials rejected her letter because it was not «timely.» Moreover, the union continues to confiscate union dues from the worker’s paycheck.

Read the entire release here.

Kissimmee, FL (April 19, 2012) – An Osceola Regional Medical Center employee has joined two of her colleagues and filed a federal charge against a major healthcare union for repeatedly violating federal law by refusing to allow her and her coworkers to exercise their right to refrain from dues-paying union membership under Florida’s popular Right to Work law.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, the worker filed the charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

In December 2011, she sent a letter notifying Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Workers East officials that she was exercising her right to resign from union membership. Instead of acknowledging her request, SEIU officials rejected her letter because it was not «timely.» Moreover, the union continues to confiscate union dues from the workers’s paycheck.

The SEIU officials’ refusal to allow the worker to exercise her right to refrain from union membership clearly violates federal law because any worker has the right to resign from full-dues-paying union membership at any time.

Her federal charge also challenges the legality of the union hierarchy’s dues deduction authorization – a document used by union officials to automatically collect dues from employees’ paychecks – which restrains a worker’s ability to exercise his or her right to resign from union membership.

The worker joins colleagues Eduardo Lopez and Imaculada Camara, two Osceola hospital workers who filed similar charges in January and March respectively.

The charges will be investigated by NLRB Regional Office 12 in Tampa.

«SEIU officials are throwing up illegal and arbitrary roadblocks to prevent workers from exercising their constitutional and statutory right to refrain from formal union membership,» said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. «Schemes like this show that the ultimate goal of union officials is to force workers to hand over more union dues, even when rank-and-file employees want nothing to do with the union.»

Washington, DC (April 17, 2012) – The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has just issued an injunction against a new NLRB regulation that requires virtually every employer in the country to post biased information about employee rights online and in the workplace.

For the first time ever, the NLRB required employers who have never committed a violation or even been accused of unfair labor practices to post an incomplete notice about employee rights. The rule also stipulated that employers who did not comply are considered guilty of violating federal labor law. Once again demonstrating the pro-forced unionism bias of the Obama NLRB, the rule made no corresponding demand on union officials to give employees information about how to exercise their rights to refrain from union politics or remove a union from their workplace.

The unanimous ruling stems from an appeal filed by the National Right to Work Foundation and other groups challenging the NLRB’s aggressive and unprecedented rule-making. The injunction against the NLRB’s new regulation, which was scheduled to go into effect on April 30, will remain in force until the Court of Appeals issues a final ruling.

National Right to Work Foundation Legal Information Director Patrick Semmens made the following statement in response to the Court’s injunction:

“We’re pleased the Court has put the brakes on this onerous new rule, which would require every job provider in America to post biased notices about workers’ rights. For three years the Obama Labor Board has taken every opportunity to empower union bosses at the expense of the rights of employees.

“By promulgating this sweeping new requirement, the NLRB clearly overstepped its statutory authority in a heavy-handed attempt to force more workers into union ranks. We’re hopeful that the Court of Appeals will eventually strike down this unfair and unauthorized rule in its entirety.”

Wooster, OH (April 12, 2012) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, a ArtiFlex Manufacturing employee has won a settlement from a local union for violating his and his coworkers’ rights.

In October 2011, Shreve-based United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1-801 union officials illegally threatened Dave Monahan and his colleagues with termination if they refused to formally join the union.

Union officials neglected to inform Artiflex workers of their rights to refrain from formal union membership and the payment of full union dues. In the Right to Work Foundation’s Communications Workers v. Beck Supreme Court case, the Court held that union officials cannot compel nonmember workers to pay the portion of union dues used for political, lobbying, and member-only activities.

Because Ohio does not have a Right to Work law, however, workers who refrain from union membership can still be compelled to pay union dues for workplace bargaining as a condition of employment.

On October 25, 2011, Monahan signed a union membership card under protest to keep his job. He then contacted the National Right to Work Foundation for free legal assistance. Monahan subsequently filed federal unfair labor practice charges against Local 1-801 with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Cleveland.

As a result of the charges, USW Local 1-801 officials were forced to settle the case. The settlement requires union officials to return all illegally-seized dues to objecting nonmember employees and mail and post notices in the workplace informing all workers of their right to refrain from full-dues-paying union membership.

“Steelworker union officials exploited their monopoly bargaining powers to force workers into full dues-paying union ranks,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. “Ohio desperately needs a Right to Work law making union membership and dues payments completely voluntary.”

“Until then, workers will be forced to pay for unwanted ‘representation’ from union bosses who disingenuously claim to have employees’ best interests at heart,” added Mix.

Cleaning Service Union Sweeps Workers’ Rights Under the Rug

Case underscores need for Massachusetts Right to Work law

Boston, MA (April 6, 2012) – Workers caught in a battle between a local union and Lynn-based Complete Cleaning, Inc. are fighting back.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, Jairo Hernandez of Lynn filed federal charges against Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 615 after union officials claimed to have monopoly bargaining privileges over the workplace with only a handful of signatures from workers supporting the union.

Hernandez filed the charges for himself and his coworkers with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Boston.

SEIU Local 615 officials claim monopoly bargaining privileges over Complete Cleaning’s workers even though workers nearly unanimously oppose the union hierarchy in their workplace. Under federal law, it is illegal for a union to claim monopoly bargaining status over a workplace without majority employee support.

Read the entire release here.

Boston, MA (April 6, 2012) – Workers caught in a battle between a local union and Lynn-based Complete Cleaning, Inc. are fighting back.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, Jairo Hernandez of Lynn filed federal charges against Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 615 after union officials claimed to have monopoly bargaining privileges over the workplace with only a handful of signatures from workers supporting the union.

Hernandez filed the charges for himself and his coworkers with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Boston.

SEIU Local 615 officials claim monopoly bargaining privileges over Complete Cleaning’s workers even though workers nearly unanimously oppose the union hierarchy in their workplace. Under federal law, it is illegal for a union to claim monopoly bargaining status over a workplace without majority employee support.

Furthermore, the SEIU filed federal charges against Complete Cleaning in an attempt to force the employer to negotiate a contact with the union.

Because Massachusetts does not have a Right to Work law making union dues payments strictly voluntary, SEIU officials will almost certainly demand a contract that forces Complete Cleaning’s workers into union dues payments.

«SEIU officials are pulling out all the stops to force their so-called ‘representation’ – and with it forced dues payments – down workers’ throats,» said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work. «Massachusetts desperately needs a Right to Work law to make it less difficult for workers to keep predatory union bosses in check.»