*Originally published September 9, 1997, by the National Institute for Labor Relations Research.* After ignoring the problem for decades, the media elite’s attention finally shifted to organized labor’s use of forced union dues for its political machine in 1996. Of course, Big Labor’s coercion of employees into paying union dues to subsidize its political agenda […]
You may not be required to be a union member. But, if you do not work in a Right to Work state, you may be required to pay union fees. Employment relations for almost all private sector employees (other than those in the airline and railroad industries) are covered by the National Labor Relations Act […]
In Pattern Makers v. NLRB, 473 U.S. 95 (1985), the United States Supreme Court held that union members have the right to resign their union membership at any time. Of course, the decision to resign is wholly yours. If the contract between your employer and the union contains no provision requiring you to join the […]
A sample union resignation letter is provided below. [LETTER TO UNION: SEND BY CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED] [your address] [date] [name and address of union] [To the appropriate union officer (See your union constitution. For the Teamsters, for example, the letter must be addressed to the Secretary-Treasurer)]: I hereby resign as a member of […]
Currently, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys are helping Minteq International employee Joel Tibbetts fight union intimidation at his workplace.
Tibbetts, a steel mill worker, turned to the Right to Work Foundation for free legal help after International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 union officials threatened to have Tibbetts fired three separate times in three months over the summer after he refused to join the union.
After the third termination threat, Tibbetts tried to join the union out of fear of losing his job. But IUOE union officials rejected his application since Tibbetts wrote that he was joining “under protest” on his union membership forms.
In retaliation, IUOE union officials told Tibbetts instead that his forced dues would amount to a sum greater than the amount Tibbetts would owe as a regular union member.
In response, Right to Work attorneys filed federal charges against the IUOE Local 150 union on behalf of Tibbetts. The charges highlight that the IUOE union’s failure to provide Tibbetts of adequate notice his rights under the 1988 Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court precedent, Communications Workers v. Beck case.
Tibbetts’ struggle underscores why employees in the Hoosier state need a Right to Work law, which would make union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary.
SPECIAL BULLETIN FOR EMPLOYEES OF FEDERAL CONTRACTORS AND SUBCONTRACTORS
On February 17, 2001, President George W. Bush issued an executive order that requires all employers that have federal government contracts involving more than $100,000 (and their subcontractors) and collective bargaining agreements requiring union membership or payment of union fees as a condition of employment to post notices informing their employees of their rights under the Foundation's Communications Workers v. Beck decision not to join the union and, if they do not join, not to pay union fees for purposes other than collective, bargaining, contract administration, and grievance adjustment.
Butte, MT (January 16, 2008) – To avoid federal prosecution by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a local union had no choice but to withdraw illegal termination threats against a Kalispell-based employee of Hanson Trucking and Resin Haulers Inc. and return all forced dues plus interest to the timber trucker.
The agreement, won by National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys, requires Teamsters Local 2 union officials to reimburse Michael Weller full union back dues plus 10 percent interest on all dues paid. Teamsters officials also promised to provide full financial disclosure of the use of Weller’s forced dues, as required by law.
With help from Foundation attorneys, Weller filed charges in October 2007 at the NLRB against the Teamsters Local 2 union to protect himself from union threats that he would be fired from his job for refusing to join the union. The charges cite that Teamsters Local 2 union officials attempted to collect ongoing and back forced union dues, while failing to provide Weller with a verified audited breakdown of union chargeable and non-chargeable expenses.
After learning of his right to refrain from formal union membership independent of Teamsters Local 2, Weller sent letters to union officials asserting his right not to be forced to pay more than the documented cost of monopoly bargaining. Because the union responded with threats against his job, Weller had no choice but to pay under protest hundreds of dollars in forced union dues – using a money order.
“This legal battle would never have been necessary if the State of Montana did not have an outrageous policy of forced unionism,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Until Montana passes a Right to Work law that ensures that payment of union dues is strictly voluntary, union officials will inevitably continue to victimize and extort money from dissenting employees.”
In the Foundation-won Communications Workers of America v. Beck decision, which applies to forced unionism states, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employees working under the National Labor Relations Act are entitled to resign from formal union membership, but can still be forced to pay for activities related to union monopoly bargaining. However, they cannot be compelled to pay for other costs such as union political activities.
Additionally, a union collecting forced dues must have an independent third party audit its expenditures and verify that the percentage of dues that non-members are forced to pay does not include political spending and other non-collective bargaining expenses.
Background
In 1971 in a confidential memorandum, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., who later became a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:
"American business and the enterprise system have been
affected as much by the courts as by the executive and
legislative branches of government."
Three years before Justice Powell's warning, we realized how important court action is in our battle to free the working people of America from compulsory unionism and established the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
Our Foundation's program is modeled after the successful program of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. In the early 1950's, when the NAACP was stalled in Congress, they filed a series of coordinated legal actions, and by taking those with the best potential to the U.S. Supreme Court, they were able to change the law.
By Mike Antonucci
© 1998 Investor's Business Daily. Used by permission.
Suppose California's Proposition 226, the paycheck protection initiative, had passed. What would the unions do then?
Thanks to documents obtained from sources within the California Teachers Association, we know the answer: more of the same.
During the campaign, the only thing both sides agreed on was that a victory for the proposition would have been devastating to organized labor.
Citing examples from Michigan and Washington state, supporters and opponents alike predicted that a victory would make labor's political power fall off dramatically and blunt its impact on the general election in November.
