Hospital employee filed unfair labor practice charges with the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys

Sacramento, CA (October 8, 2015) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a formal complaint against the SEIU United Healthcare Workers West union for violating the workplace rights of a nurse at Dignity Health Mercy General Hospital.

In June of 2015, SEIU officials informed Amy Kelsey that she was automatically enrolled as a union member after she started working at Mercy General and would be expected to pay full union dues to “remain a member in good standing.” SEIU officials gave inadequate information to Kelsey about her rights to refrain from formal union membership and opt out of paying full dues.

In California and other states that lack Right to Work laws, employees can be required to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. However, they cannot be forced to pay for activities such as political activism. Moreover, federal labor law provides that no employee can be forced to formally join a union. Union officials have a legal duty to inform employees of these rights.

SEIU officials never informed Kelsey of her workplace rights and failed to give other employees adequate information about how to opt out of paying dues for union politics.

With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Kelsey filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB on July 13, 2015. The NLRB Regional Director has now issued a formal complaint, seeking to require union officials to inform employees of their right to refrain from full union membership and object to paying for union politics. The case will be tried before an Administrative Law Judge.

“SEIU officials are eager to force new employees into full dues-paying union ranks,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. “This illegal ploy is unfortunately all too common from Big Labor union bosses desperate to add to their ranks of forced unionism.”

“This case demonstrates the immediate need for a California Right to Work Law so that every Golden State worker can no longer be forced to pay dues or fees to a union as a condition of getting or keeping a job,” added Mix.

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.