Threatened with employment termination for not joining union, Michigan worker files federal charges against union to protect her rights

Constantine, Michigan (November 30, 2015) – A pharmacist from Michigan has filed, with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the United Food and Commercial Workers International (UFCW) Local 951 union.

Laura Fries works as a certified pharmacy technician at a Rite Aid pharmacy in Sturgis, Michigan. Rite Aid has a monopoly bargaining agreement with UFCW Local 951. She filed the NLRB charges after a Local 951 representative told her that union membership is required as a condition of employment, coercing her into joining the union.

Local 951’s monopoly bargaining agreement was entered into before Michigan’s recently enacted Right to Work law took effect. This means that Fries can be forced to pay an “agency fee” to Local 951, but federal law protects her right to refrain from full union membership and from paying for union political activity.

On November 2, 2015, Fries was told by a union representative that she would be fired unless she joined Local 951. Fries then signed the union membership and dues checkoff authorization forms under duress, adding the phrase “did not want to join.”

When Fries called Local 951’s office later that day, another union representative informed her that she had been wrongfully told that union membership is required for employment. However, this union representative also said that Fries would have to send a letter stating her desire to refrain from union membership, and informed Fries she owed back union dues from January 2015, when her employment began. November 2 was the first time Fries had ever been told that she must pay union dues as a condition of employment and owed back dues.

On November 3, Local 951 acknowledged receipt of Fries’ letter stating she had never wanted to join the union, and wished to exercise her right to resign union membership. However, Local 951 did not indicate whether Fries’ resignation had been accepted. Local 951 also failed to provide any further information about what “back dues” Fries allegedly owed, and did not inform Fries how she could avoid paying for Local 951’s political and other nonbargaining activity, despite Local 951’s legal obligation to provide that information.

Fries’ employer began deducting union dues from her paychecks in November. The NLRB’s Regional Office in Detroit will now investigate the charge.

“Union bosses apparently will stop at nothing to trick and deceive workers into joining their forced-dues funded ranks,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Clearly, although Michigan is now a Right to Work state, workers can still be victims of union boss’ intimidation, deception and outright illegal activity. The National Right to Work Foundation is ready to fight for Laura until she is no longer subject to workplace abuse at the hands of Local 951 union bosses.”

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.