SEIU Union Officials Violate Federal Settlement

Worker advocate assists healthcare workers coerced into forced dues union ranks

Sacramento, CA (April 4, 2013) – With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a Sutter Roseville Medical Center respiratory care practitioner has filed another federal charge against a statewide union for violating a federal settlement by coercing her and her colleagues into paying full union dues even though they are not union members.

In late 2011, Mary Massen won a federal settlement after filing charges against with the Oakland-based Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers – West (SEIU-UHW) union with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Because California does not have Right to Work protections for its workers, Massen, who has exercised her right to refrain from formal union membership, is still forced to pay union fees as a condition of employment. However, because of a Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent in Communication Workers v. Beck, she cannot be compelled to pay the portion of union dues used for the union’s political, lobbying, and member-only activities. Union officials are also legally obligated to inform workers of these rights and to provide workers with an independently verified audit of chargeable and non-chargeable expenses.

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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.