Milwaukee, Wis. (May 5, 2005) — The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation’s formal arguments in opposition to a Milwaukee County ordinance that requires certain private employers that contract with the county to assist union officials in pressuring employees into union ranks have been accepted by an Appellate Court.

The amicus curiae brief filed by Foundation attorneys in support of MMAC’s appeal of a lower court ruling, was accepted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) v. Milwaukee County.

In their brief, Foundation attorneys argue that the ordinance, County “Chapter 31,” is pre-empted by federal labor law intended to protect third-party employers from pressure to unionize by other entities in concert with union officials. Foundation attorneys point out that such requirements in contracts by private businesses are clearly outlawed by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), and that government entities should be held to the same standard.

Under the ordinance, non-union private employers wishing to receive contracts from the County must sign a so-called “neutrality agreement” requiring them to assist union organizers by granting them sweeping access to their facilities, providing them with employees’ private personal information, and not telling workers the full story with regard to unionization.

“Local officials are forbidden from using the heavy hand of government to trample upon employers’ and workers’ freedoms which are supposedly protected by federal law,” said Foundation Vice President Stefan Gleason. “Since union officials seem to be having increasing difficulties persuading employees to join unions voluntarily, they have resorted to these tactics in order to maintain the flow of forced union dues into their coffers.”

On September 28, 2000, the County of Milwaukee’s Board of Supervisors passed “Chapter 31” over the objections of its own Corporate Counsel, who views the law as an impermissible regulation of private labor relations. One of the law’s sponsors branded the law a “…fight to change the NLRA.”

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in more than 250 cases nationwide per year.