Employee Files Federal Charges after Teamster Officials Threaten Workers Who Seek to Vote Union Out
Santa Cruz, CA (November 20, 2015) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a local Threshold Enterprises employee has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 912 union. Threshold employee Hector Garcia states that union officials threatened to have workers fired for voting to remove the Teamsters.
A union decertification election is scheduled for November 23 and 24 at Garcia’s workplace to determine whether Teamster officials will continue to collect mandatory union dues and bargain over wages and working conditions for all Threshold employees. In the months leading up to the election, union officials have repeatedly harassed independent-minded employees to discourage them from voting against the union.
Local 912 is currently the monopoly bargaining agent for all Threshold employees in Garcia’s workplace. Because California lacks a Right to Work law, this means that Teamster officials are legally empowered to collect mandatory union dues or fees from all workers, including those who oppose the union’s presence.
Garcia’s charges follow similar allegations leveled by his coworker, Enriqueta Morales, in September 2015. Morales also filed federal charges after Teamster officials threatened her job for gathering signatures for a petition to remove the union. Both Garcia and Morales’ charges contend that other employees have faced harassment and intimidation from Teamster operatives for opposing the union’s presence.
Garcia and Morales’ charges will now be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a federal agency responsible for administering private-sector labor law.
“It’s outrageous that union officials are resorting to harassment and intimidation to hold onto their forced-dues powers over workers,” said Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Employees should be free to vote their consciences without interference from Teamster goons. The National Right to Work Foundation stands ready to defend the rights of any victims of union boss harassment.”
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 about 200 cases nationwide per year.
