Senate Hearings Today on Obama’s Radical, Pro-Coercion Labor Board Nominee

Yesterday in Roll Call, Bret Jacobson noted the importance of today's Senate hearings on President Obama's nomination of Service Employee International Union General Counsel, Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board. Thus, we have today’s hearing for Becker, a longtime strategist and lawyer for organized labor. If they can’t get “card check” through a broad, participatory legislative process, they’ll push to grab a similar victory through the federal board’s ability to regulate without approval of the people’s Representatives. As such, this hearing — demanded by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is troubled by Becker’s blatantly anti-employer views — signals that we have officially hit plan B on the administration’s strategy for pandering to the organized labor lobby. This new course will focus on the quiet job-killer of regulation and card check by fiat.

Federal Labor Board Rejects Frivolous Teamster Union Charges Against National Right to Work Foundation

Seattle, WA (February 2, 2010) – The National Labor Relation Board’s (NLRB) regional office in Seattle has dismissed as unwarranted and unsupported frivolous charges filed by Teamsters union officials against the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. Teamsters Local 117 union bosses filed the unfair labor practice charges against the Foundation in a desperate attempt to stall an employee vote at Alan Ritchey, Inc. which would allow the employees to rescind the union hierarchy’s forced dues privileges – which requires employees to pay union dues and fees as a condition of keeping their jobs. After reviewing the charges, the NLRB regional director in Seattle outright rejected the charges as unwarranted and unsupported.

Right to Work Podcast: Union Discrimination and Employees of Faith

Recently, Right to Work Vice President Stefan Gleason appeared on the Frank Beckmann Show to discuss the Foundation's efforts to fight union discrimination against religious employees. Click here to listen or use the embedded player below:

Employees Slap Teamster Union Officials with Federal Charges over Illegal Forced Dues Policy

Employees Slap Teamster Union Officials with Federal Charges over Illegal Forced Dues Policy Union officials fail to provide adequate disclosure to nonunion employees, then threaten the workers with termination Philadelphia, PA and Baltimore, MD (December 16, 2009) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, four workers forced to pay fees to a regional Teamsters union council have filed unfair labor practice charges against the union for providing inadequate financial disclosure and illegally threatening to have workers who didn’t pay fired.

Employees Slap Teamster Union Officials with Federal Charges over Illegal Forced Dues Policy

Philadelphia, PA and Baltimore, MD (December 16, 2009) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, four workers forced to pay fees to a regional Teamsters union council have filed unfair labor practice charges against the union for providing inadequate financial disclosure and illegally threatening to have workers who didn’t pay fired. Under the Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent Communication Workers v. Beck, nonmember employees can be forced to pay certain union dues as a condition of employment, but they cannot be compelled to pay for politics, lobbying, and member-only events. 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.

‘UNITE HERE!’ Union Bosses Forced to Refund Dues Illegally Seized from Nonmember Hotel Workers

Honolulu, Hawaii (December 15, 2009) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, two Honolulu hotel employees have obtained a federally-mandated settlement from union officials with UNITE HERE! Local 5 and its national affiliate. Brenda Lee Orr, a nonunion employee of Turtle Bay Resort, and Grant Suzuki, a nonunion employee of Hilton Hawaiian Beach Resort and Spa, filed federal charges against UNITE HERE! Local 5 last year, accusing union officials of illegally forcing nonunion employees to pay dues for activities unrelated to workplace bargaining. Suzuki also alleged that union officials failed to provide him with a federally-mandated breakdown of all union expenditures.

Obama’s Style of So-Called Leadership: «Mr. Contractor, Tear Down Those Employee Rights Notices»

President Barack Obama's efforts to transition the Department of Labor into a giant, taxpayer-funded extension of Big Labor's organizing and political fund-raising machine just hit another milestone. President Barack Obama's January 30, 2009 executive order, aimed to help union bosses seize more forced dues revenue to fund Big Labor’s political agenda, was just printed in the Federal Register -- making it official.  In a nutshell, the EO tears down posted notices to employees of federal contractors which explain they can actually refrain from paying forced union dues spent for union electioneering and the like.

Public Sector Union Bosses Force Unwilling Workers to Join Union, Pay Full Dues

Hudson, OH (December 8, 2009) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a local worker has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) Local 791 union. The charges allege that union officials intentionally discriminated against nonunion employees and failed to inform workers of their right to refrain from union membership. Janet Barlow is a driver employed at First Student, whose contract with OAPSE gives union officials monopoly bargaining privileges in her workplace. Barlow alleges that union officials failed to notify employees of their rights to opt-out of union membership and the payment of full union dues.

Independent-Minded Employees Slap Teamster Bosses with Federal Labor Charges For Illegal Threats

Auburn, Washington (November 17, 2009) – Two Alan Ritchey Incorporated employees have hit local Teamster union officials with unfair labor practice charges after the union brass illegally threatened them with imminent termination. Gayle May and Patricia Allen, employees of the transportation, storage, and mail delivery manufacturer and supplier, contacted the National Right to Work Foundation after they received a letter from Teamster Local 117 union officials giving them only days to exercise their legal rights to refrain from paying union dues spent for non-bargaining activities like political activism, lobbying, and member-only events, even though they had already exercised these rights. With help from Foundation attorneys, the employees – on behalf of dozens of other similarly-situated Alan Ritchey employees – filed the charges with the National Labor Relations Board regional office in Seattle.

Employee Hits Newspaper Guild Union with Federal Charges for Illegal Forced Dues Policy

New York, NY (November 2, 2009) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a local employee has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the Newspaper Guild of New York Local 3 Union. Jeremy Rosenbaum, a financial analyst at Standard & Poor’s, is not a union member and had previously exercised his right to opt-out of certain union dues. In July of 2009, Rosenbaum discovered that union officials arbitrarily stripped him of his objector status, forcing him to pay full dues. Although employees can be required to pay union dues as a condition of employment, the Foundation-won Supreme Court decision Communication Workers v. Beck guarantees the right of workers to opt-out of dues intended for purposes other than union bargaining, including lobbying, political activism, and members-only activities.