Hartford, Connecticut (May 19, 2009) – National Right to Work Foundation attorneys have successfully negotiated a settlement with the Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 1103 union for Patricia Pelletier, a worker who was targeted by CWA operatives for a vicious campaign of retaliation after she attempted to remove the union from her workplace.

Connecticut’s lack of a Right to Work law compelled Pelletier, a Hartford-based employee of the Connecticut Student Loan Foundation, to pay union dues as a condition of employment. Dissatisfied with the union’s presence in her workplace, Pelletier exercised her legal right to circulate a decertification petition to eject the union. Her co-workers ultimately voted to remove the unpopular union, but CWA operatives responded by allegedly forging Pelletier’s signature on numerous magazine subscriptions and consumer product solicitations.

In her lawsuit, Pelletier also alleged that union officials planted cocaine in her office in an effort to have her fired.

Pelletier’s home was then flooded with hundreds of unwanted magazines and advertisements. Not only was Pelletier forced to spend several hours each day canceling individual subscriptions, she was also billed for thousands of dollars by unwitting magazine companies, jeopardizing her credit rating. Even after her lawsuit was filed, Pelletier still received excess mail from a variety of journals and magazines, and her name continued to be circulated through advertiser mailing lists across the country.

The 31-count suit brought by Foundation attorneys for Pelletier against CWA Local 1103 and four union officials alleged that CWA operatives committed identity theft, conspired to forge Pelletier’s signature, inflicted undue emotional distress on Pelletier and her family, and violated Connecticut’s Unfair Trade Practice Act by unlawfully retaliating against Pelletier for attempting to remove the union.

Although Foundation attorneys achieved a settlement that satisfies Pelletier, the terms of the settlement are confidential.

“We’re happy to report that after enduring a trying ordeal, Patricia Pelletier is finally getting a satisfactory resolution,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “No worker should be subjected to vicious union retaliation for exercising their rights in the workplace.”

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.