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.

In November, Alan Ritchey employees Gayle May and Patricia Allen contacted the Foundation after union bosses circulated a letter threatening that they would be subject to discharge in 2-3 days unless they notified the union whether their status was as members or objecting nonmembers who do not wish to pay for the union’s activities such as political activism, legislative lobbying and union social events. However, May, Allen and other employees were already on record with the union as being nonmember objectors. Thus, it appeared that union officials were simply trying to intimidate them.

With help from Foundation attorneys, May and Allen – acting for dozens of other similarly-situated employees of the mail transportation equipment repair and service center – filed unfair labor practice charges against Local 117 in November.

About the same time, other Alan Ritchey employees filed a petition seeking a deauthorization election, which could void the forced union dues clause in the contract with their employer. In a move seemingly designed to prevent the election, Local 117 union bosses filed the charges against the Foundation, which blocked the employee vote.

“With Teamsters Local 117 union bosses focusing their energies on harassing independent-minded employees who exercise their rights, it’s little wonder these employees want to strip the union bosses of their forced dues privileges,” said Patrick Semmens, Legal Information Director of the National Right to Work Foundation.

Foundation attorneys won private-sector employees the right to refrain from funding non-bargaining union boss activities in the 1988 Communications Workers of America v. Beck U.S. Supreme Court decision. However, only through the protection of a Right to Work law is an employee’s decision whether to support a union with their hard-earned money fully voluntary.

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.