San Francisco, CA (October 27, 2010) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, six San Francisco-based Hilton employees have filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the UNITE HERE Local 2 union for threatening them for not participating in a recent strike and failing to notify employees about their workplace rights.

Julio Lopez, Maria Mores, Armando Campos, Robert DelReal, Jorge Diaz Vega, and Nicholas Gonzales are all employed at the Union Square Hilton Hotel. Although UNITE HERE Local 2 is the monopoly bargaining agent for hotel employees, the contract between the union and the hotel lapsed over a year ago. Because the union lacks a contract, Hilton employees can no longer be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment. However, none of the charging parties were made aware that they could leave the union and opt-out of further dues payments.

Not only did UNITE HERE officials fail to notify Hilton employees of these rights, but they threatened Lopez, Mores, Campos, DelReal, Diaz Vega, and Gonzales with disciplinary action for failing to participate in an April 2010 strike. When several employees attempted to resign from union membership this month, union officials ignored their requests and have continued to collect dues.

So-called union disciplinary hearings are frequently used by union officials to retaliate against independent-minded workers. In previous Foundation cases, union lawyers have attempted to collect fines as high as $30,000 from dissenting employees.

The employees’ charges, which will now be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), seek the return of all illegally-confiscated union dues and a public notice of Hilton employees’ legal rights from UNITE HERE Local 2.

“UNITE HERE bosses kept workers in the dark to force them to pay exorbitant dues and participate in a union-instigated strike,” said Patrick Semmens, Legal Information Director for the National Right to Work Foundation. “While we hope the NLRB will crack down on these illegal practices, the best solution would be for California to adopt a Right to Work law, making union membership and dues payments strictly 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.