Ford Motor Security Company, Local Union Face Federal Prosecution for Numerous Violations

Dearborn, MI (July 30, 2013) – A security company and a Dearborn-based union are facing a federal prosecution for a litany of workers' rights abuses.The prosecution comes in the wake of a series of charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by three security guards, one of whom is receiving free legal assistance from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys.The three security guards filed the charges after their employer, AlliedBarton Security Services, entered into a monopoly bargaining agreement with the United Protective Workers of America (UPWA) Local 1 union hierarchy shortly before Michigan's new Right to Work law took effect.

IAM Officials, IKEA Agree to Class-wide Settlement Refunding Union Dues Spent on Political Activism

Elkton, MD (July 29, 2013) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, several IKEA employees have reached a class-wide settlement with their employer and the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union that allows them and their coworkers to retroactively resign from the union and receive refunds for any union dues spent on political activism since September 1, 2012. The settlement is the result of unfair labor practice charges filed by four IKEA employees in January and February 2013 after union officials failed to inform them and their coworkers of their rights to refrain from union membership and payment of full union dues. Many workers were threatened with termination by union officials for refusing to join the IAM or pay full dues.

Local Postal Worker Files Federal Charge Against Postal Service for Failure to Process Union Resignation

Hampden, ME (July 24, 2013) – A local United States Postal Service (USPS) worker has filed a federal charge against the agency for failing to timely process his request to refrain from union membership and dues payments, thus forcing him to pay union dues for another year.Brett Johnson of Holden, Maine, filed the charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Monday with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys.On April 30, 2003, Johnson joined the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) union and signed a dues deduction authorization form. Dues deduction authorizations are used by union officials to automatically withhold dues from employee paychecks.On April 10, 2013, Johnson sent a letter to the NALC union resigning his membership and refraining from union dues payments. Johnson hand-delivered the same letter to his postal service human resources representative the following day.

Machinist Union Hierarchy Faces Federal Prosecution in Wake of Last Summer’s Caterpillar Strike

Joliet, IL (July 3, 2013) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a complaint against a local Machinist union for violating the rights of three Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) workers in the wake of last summer's union boss-instigated strike against the company.The NLRB's complaint stems from federal charges filed by three Caterpillar workers, with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, against the International Association of Machinists (IAM) District Lodge 851 union for violating their rights and levying retaliatory strike fines against them.On May 1, 2012, IAM District Lodge 851 union bosses ordered all of the over 800 Joliet Caterpillar workers on strike. Over a hundred workers worked despite the IAM union boss demands.After the strike ended, IAM Local 851 union bosses levied fines that likely totaled over a million dollars against workers for continuing to work during the strike.

Airline Workers’ Federal Class-Action Suit Seeks to Ground Union Boss Forced Dues Powers

Dallas, TX (June 27, 2013) – Six airline workers have filed a federal class-action lawsuit that seeks to expand workers' right to refrain from paying union dues in light of last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision in Knox v. SEIU Local 1000.Five American Eagle Airlines baggage handlers from Texas and a Southwest Airlines flight attendant from Maryland filed the lawsuit with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas.

Paris Las Vegas Casino Union Bosses Play High Stakes Game with Worker’s Legal Rights

Las Vegas, NV (June 26, 2013) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino worker has filed a federal charge against a local union for violating her right to refrain from union affiliation.Nani Sugianto filed the federal unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last week against the Culinary Workers Union Local 226.According to the charge, after union brass signed a new contract with the hotel, a union steward illegally threatened Sugianto that she would lose all of her benefits and her seniority, and would be required to start over again as a new hire, unless she paid union dues even though she is not a union member.Under Nevada's Right to Work law, workers cannot be forced to pay union dues or fees as a condition of their employment.

Hospital Worker to Testify at Congressional Hearing Regarding SEIU Card Check Coercion

Washington, DC (June 26, 2013) – An Orange County, California hospital worker and her National Right to Work Foundation staff attorney will testify today before a U.S. House subcommittee about the need for workers to be able to choose free from coercion whether they want a union hierarchy in their workplace.Marlene Felter, a Chapman Medical Center worker who led an effort to stave off unwanted Service Employees International Union (SEIU) boss "representation" from her workplace, and attorney Glenn Taubman, who has over 30 years of experience on the Foundation's legal staff, will testify before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce's Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions at 10:00 AM.Felter will highlight the need for the Secret Ballot Protection Act, sponsored by Congressman David Roe (R-Tenn.), while testifying about her personal experiences dealing with a coercive SEIU card check unionization campaign.

Leading Worker Advocate Commemorates National Employee Freedom Week

Washington, DC (June 25, 2013) – The National Right to Work Foundation, a charitable organization that provides free legal assistance to employees nationwide, is joining the Nevada Policy Research Institute and a host of other organizations to commemorate National Employee Freedom Week. The weeklong event is dedicated to informing employees across the country of their rights to refrain from union membership and the payment of full union dues. Employee Freedom Week was originally conceived by the Nevada Policy Research Institute as a way to reach employees who may be unaware of or misinformed about their workplace rights. As a leading organization dedicated to fighting compulsory unionism, the National Right to Work Foundation has been involved in efforts to raise employee awareness of their rights to refrain since its founding in 1968.

Supreme Court to Hear National Right to Work Foundation Case Challenging Backroom Union Organizing Deal

Washington, DC (June 24, 2013) – Today, the United States Supreme Court announced that it is granting a writ of certiorari in Mulhall v. UNITE HERE, a case that could determine if companies are allowed to hand over workers' personal information to union organizers in exchange for union concessions, among other things.In 2004, UNITE HERE Local 355 and Mardi Gras Gaming entered into an agreement in which union officials promised to spend over one hundred thousand dollars on a gambling ballot initiative and guaranteed not to picket, boycott, or strike against Mardi Gras facilities.

Worker Advocate Offers $10,000 Reward for Information Leading to Convictions in Firebombings of Worker’s Cars

Chicago, IL (June 18, 2013) – The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation has announced today a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrests and convictions of those responsible for damaging a South Water Market, Inc. worker's personal and work vehicles during a Teamster union strike.With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, the Chicago-area South Water Market worker filed a federal charge last week against the Teamsters Local 703 union alleging that union militants threatened him, his family and his property, and that his personal property was damaged shortly after he received those threats.The worker filed the charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional office in Chicago.