Foundation-won Supreme Court Precedents:

The following links will take you to Foundation-won Supreme Court precedents, Court of Appeals precedents, other federal cases, relevant federal labor law, state Right to Work laws, and other available information resources. While this list is not exhaustive, it is an excellent resource for becoming familiar with current federal labor law as it applies to compulsory unionism. Note: Links on this page are updated on an ongoing basis as cases are revised or as new cases or case law are established. Please check this page frequently for such updates. If you have any suggestions for additional labor-related case law or statutory law for this page, please contact us.

Floridian Triggers Elimination of Nationwide IAM Union Policy

After a four-year legal tangle, Floridian Robert Prime prompted the National Labor Relations Board to strike down an IAM union nationwide policy requiring employees to object annually to paying forced union dues for politics. Prime received free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation.Union officials commonly use such tactics to hamstring employees from exercising their rights under the Foundation-won Communications Workers v. Beck U.S. Supreme court victory. Under Beck, employees under the National Labor Relations Act can withhold forced union dues not used for collective barganing, including those used for union political activities.Though Florida is a Right to Work state, Prime works on an "exclusive federal enclave" where state law does not protect him.  

Floridian Spurs Elimination of National Union Policy Requiring Annual Objections to Forced Dues for Politics

Pensacola, FL (December 11, 2007) – After nearly a four-year delay, a Florida worker has prompted an administrative law judge of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to strike down a nationwide policy of a major international union that requires employees to object annually to prevent union officials from spending their compulsory union dues for […]

Special Bulletin for Actors and Actresses

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) are expelling from membership, or denying membership to, actors and actresses who worked for struck employers during last year's nationwide strike against advertising agencies and producers of radio and television commercials. If you did struck work during this strike, you should know the following:

“I’m not real big on people threatening me”

Right to Work attorneys helped Montana timber trucker Michael Weller file federal charges against the Teamsters Local 2 after union officials unlawfully ordered him to pay hundreds of dollars in forced dues.When Weller exercised his rights under Beck, Teamsters union officials responded by illegally threatening to have him fired from his job. The Daily Inter Lake quoted Weller: “It’s the principle of the matter. What prompted this was them threatening my job. I’m not real big on people threatening me.”

Hanson Trucking Driver Hits Butte-Based Teamsters Union with Federal Charges for Illegal Threats to Job

**Butte, MT (October 29, 2007)** – A Kalispell-based employee of Hanson Trucking and Resin Haulers Inc. filed federal charges against the Teamsters Local 2 union to protect himself from illegal threats to his job. Michael Weller, a timber trucker for the resin hauling company, filed the charges at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with […]

Musicians Make Hollywood Union Officials Face the Music

Film score violinist Sai-Ly Acosta and her fellow musicians fought back last week against an ugly campaign of union intimidation.After Sai-Ly filed federal charges with help from National Right to Work attorneys, union officials immediately backed off from their threats to have dissenting musicians arrested and the musicians were allowed to rehearse with the orchestra for the time being.However, other eyewitnesses said that union operatives posted signs throughout the building that read “Full Members Only,” and union operatives have harassed and intimidated the dissenting musicians, calling them “scabs.”One musician even held there were so many of the signs posted in the building that she was surprised that there wasn’t a separate bathroom for those who exercised their Beck rights.

Safeway Employees Win in Montana

Jerry Rasmussen and Carla Crandall (along with their coworkers) forced the UFCW Local 4 to sign a settlement after union officials tried to bar them from exercising their legal rights at a Safeway in Polson, Montana.National Right to Work attorneys helped the two through their battle against illegal termination threats and forced dues seizures after union officials denied their requests to resign from formal membership.The Associated Press covered the story: "I got a hold of the (National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation) attorneys, and they said, 'That's absolutely not right. They have to acknowledge those Beck rights and let you be a nonmember,'" Rasmussen said. Although the settlement requires UFCW Local 4 officials to reimburse the employees of their forced dues plus interest and to inform them of their legal right to resign from formal membership, it is an incremental victory in the broad fight against compulsory unionism in Montana. Until Montana has a Right to Work law that makes the payment of union dues strictly volunatary, this type of intimidation will likely continue throughout the Treasure State.

Hollywood Union Hit with Federal Charge After Union Officials Threaten Musicians With Arrests

**Hollywood, CA (October 11, 2007)** – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a Symphony on the Glen musician filed a federal charge today against the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 47 responding to an ugly union campaign of intimidation, coercion, and retaliation against employees exercising their legal rights. Sai-Ly […]

Safeway Employees Win Settlement Against Union After Illegal Threats and Dues Seizures

**Butte, MT (October 10, 2007)** – In order to avoid federal prosecution by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a local union had no choice but to ink a settlement with several Safeway employees after union officials tried unlawfully to keep them from exercising their rights. The settlement, secured by National Right to Work Legal […]