Washington, DC (November 17, 2014) – Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation, is urging U.S. Labor Department Secretary Thomas Perez to apply federal labor disclosure law to German union and Volkswagen (VW) officials involved in an international push to unionize workers at VW’s Chattanooga, Tennessee facility.

The Foundation – the nation’s premier advocate on behalf of workers who suffer from the abuses of compulsory unionism – assisted several workers who were subjected to coercive card check unionization tactics and pressure from VW management during the United Auto Workers (UAW) union’s multi-year campaign to unionize the workers. The Foundation also assisted some of those workers in filing a federal suit that challenged the company’s assistance to UAW union officials during the unionization campaign as an illegal exchange of «thing[s] of value» under the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA).

In a letter to Perez, Mix spells out how officials from the German-based IG Metall union, VW’s Global Group Works Council (GWC), the UAW union, and VW Germany have participated in «high-profile public activities…that trigger Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) reporting requirements.» Mix notes that the U.S. Department of Labor has thus far ignored this fact, and if it continues to do so, union and company officials «may receive de facto immunity for their possible violations of the LMRDA’s criminal and civil protections.»

The LMRDA requires union officials to make comprehensive and detailed disclosure of union financial data, prohibits persons convicted of serious crimes from serving as union officers, forces full reporting by union officers of any personal conflict-of-interest transactions, and prohibits the channeling of bribes and improper influence through middlemen.

«As it stands now, American employees of Volkswagen do not know what inside arrangements exist among UAW, IG Metall, Global Works Council, and VW,» Mix states in the letter to Perez. «I call on you to immediately use your authorized powers to demand [disclosure reports] from IG Metall and the Global Works Council.»

New York Childcare Providers File Federal Lawsuit Challenging Forced Unionization Scheme

Childcare providers fight dictate to push childcare business owners into forced dues union ranks

Syracuse, NY (December 2, 2014) – A group of New York home-based childcare providers have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a 2007 executive order that greased the skids for the forced unionization of the state’s home-based childcare providers. The providers seek a refund of illegally-seized union dues.

Mary Jarvis and nine other providers filed the suit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

Jarvis and the other providers challenge AFSCME-affiliated Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) union officials’ monopoly political representation over thousands of providers in the state outside New York City who operate home-based childcare businesses.

Click here to read the full release.

SEIU Officials, Santa Clara County Face Class-Action Lawsuit for Violating Employees’ Rights

Relying on landmark Knox Supreme Court decision, county employees seek to end automatic dues deduction for union politics

San Jose, CA (December 3, 2014) – Two Santa Clara Valley Medical Center employees have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against a local union and the county that seeks to expand public employees’ right to refrain from paying union dues used for union politics.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation-provided staff attorneys, San Jose-area county employees Jeffrey Lum and Andrew Li filed the lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s San Jose Division.

Lum and Li are not formal union members in the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 521. Because California does not have a Right to Work law, workers can be required to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. However, nonmember workers have the right to refrain from paying for union boss politics and many other activities not related to bargaining with their employer.

Although Lum and Li are not union members, SEIU and county officials continue to deduct an amount equal to full union dues from their paychecks as if they were.

Click here to read the full release.

Worker Advocate Blasts Obama Labor Board Rule Change

New regulations would allow union bosses to ambush workers into forced-dues-paying union ranks

Washington, DC (December 12, 2014) – Today, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) again issued new regulations that give union organizers the upper hand over independent-minded employees during unionization elections.

The new rules are designed to dramatically shorten the time individual workers have to share information with their coworkers about the effects of unionization. The new regulations also require employers to hand over workers’ private information to union organizers, including their phone numbers and email addresses.

This isn’t the first time the NLRB rushed out the new rules in December before a Member’s term expired, this time as former union lawyer Nancy Schiffer’s term expires on Tuesday, December 16. The NLRB previously rushed the regulations out before former Service Employees International Union (SEIU) lawyer and Obama NLRB recess appointee Craig Becker’s term expired in December 2011. They were later invalidated by a federal district court in 2012 on procedural grounds.

Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation released the following statement in the wake of the NLRB’s announcement:

«Christmas came early for Big Labor as the Obama Labor Board has once again given union bosses increased power to ambush workers into dues-paying union ranks.»

Click here to read the full release.

Indiana Supreme Court Strikes Down Third Union Boss Challenge to State Right to Work Law

Hoosier workers contested spurious union challenge

Indianapolis, IN (December 17, 2014) – The Indiana Supreme Court today once again rejected a union boss-backed challenge to Indiana’s 2012 Right to Work law. The case is a lawsuit filed by the United Steelworker (USW) union that makes a number of dubious claims in its challenge to the law, including the argument that unions have a right to force workers to pay for their unwanted services.

The Indiana Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s ruling. Early last month, the court also upheld the law as constitutional in a different case involving the same issues. And a broader challenge was rejected in September by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Click here to read the full release.

Union Employee Files Federal Charge Against Another Local Union for Violating Her Rights

Case underscores needs for Right to Work protections

San Diego, CA (December 23, 2014) – An employee of a local union has filed a federal charge against another local union for threatening her with job termination after she tried to exercise her right to refrain from union membership and full dues payments.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, Karen Gomez of San Diego filed the unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Gomez, an employee of the UNITE HERE Local 30 union, mailed a letter to the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 537 notifying the union hierarchy that she was exercising her right to refrain from formal union membership.

Click here to read the full release.

International Paper Company and Steelworker Union Face Federal Charges for Violating Local Mill Worker’s Rights

Union stonewalls worker’s attempt to exercise rights to refrain from union membership and dues payments

Prattville, AL (January 6, 2015) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, an International Paper Company instrument electrician has filed federal charges against a local union and the company for violating his rights.

Clanton resident James Smith filed the unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the United Steelworkers of America (USW) Local 1458 union and International Paper Co. for ignoring his right to refrain from paying union dues. Under Alabama’s popular Right to Work law, no worker can be required to join or pay fees to a union as a condition of employment.

Click here to read the full release.

MGM Casino, Local Union Face Federal Charges for Playing Fast and Loose with Worker’s Rights

Case underscores importance of Right to Work protections for Michigan workers

Detroit, MI (January 6, 2015) – An area MGM Grand Detroit casino employee has filed federal charges against a local security guard union and the casino for blocking her from exercising her rights guaranteed under Michigan’s Right to Work law.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, Johnnie Cullens of Detroit filed the unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

On November 18, Cullens, an MGM Grand Detroit employee since 2001, delivered a letter to her employer and the Security, Police, and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) Local 1111 union notifying them that she was resigning her union membership and revoking her union dues deduction authorization – a document used by union officials to collect dues from workers’ paychecks. She also sent the letters by certified mail to the union on November 21.

Click here to read the full release.

Navy Helicopter Simulator Technician Files Federal Charge Against Local Union for Illegal Dues Demands

Case underscores needs for Right to Work protections

San Diego, CA (January 6, 2015) – A local Navy helicopter simulator maintenance technician, who works for a private contractor for the U.S. Navy, has filed a federal charge against a union and its local and regional affiliates for violating his rights.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, Cubic Worldwide Technical Services employee Abraham Perez filed the unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

In July 2014, Perez filled out an International Association of Machinist (IAM) union dues deduction authorization – a form union officials use to automatically withhold union dues from employee paychecks – but declined to check the union membership box. In August 2014, Perez sent a letter resigning his union membership in the IAM union; its regional affiliate, District Lodge 725; and its local affiliate, Local Lodge 1125. His letter also objected to paying full dues.

Click here to read the full release.

Syracuse, NY (December 2, 2014) – A group of New York home-based childcare providers have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a 2007 executive order that greased the skids for the forced unionization of the state’s home-based childcare providers. The providers seek a refund of illegally-seized union dues.

Mary Jarvis and nine other providers filed the suit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

Jarvis and the other providers challenge AFSCME-affiliated Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) union officials’ monopoly political representation over thousands of providers in the state outside New York City who operate home-based childcare businesses.

The forced unionization scheme started under a 2007 executive order signed by disgraced former Governor Eliot Spitzer. The scheme was later codified in October 2010.

Home-based childcare and personal care providers, with Foundation attorneys’ assistance, have challenged similar forced-unionization-by-government-fiat schemes in several states across the country, including Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Michigan. On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in Harris v. Quinn striking down the Illinois scheme, ruling that individuals who receive state subsidies based on their clientele cannot be forced to pay compulsory union fees. The next day, the Court cleared the path for 50,000 home childcare providers in Michigan to receive a refund of union dues illegally taken during Michigan’s now-defunct unionization scheme.

Under the New York scheme, CSEA Local 100A union officials are empowered to confiscate forced dues and fees from over 7,200 childcare providers across the state for this forced «exclusive representation.» The providers in this case also seek a refund of dues illegally seized by CSEA union officials over the past two years.

Foundation attorneys argue that such schemes violate the providers’ First Amendment right to choose with whom they associate to petition the government. The government does not have the constitutional authority to force citizens to accept government’s handpicked political representative to lobby itself.

«Citizens have the power to select their political representation in government, not the other way around,» said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. «This scheme, which forces small business owners, and even grandma taking care of her grandchildren, into union political association is a slap in the face of fundamental American principles we hold dear.»