Case continues as employee challenges unlawful provision in United Steelworkers union contract

Anacortes, WA (October 12, 2022) – After filing federal charges against the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 12-591 union and his employer, HF Sinclair employee, Dustin Hoffman recovered illegally deducted union fees from his paycheck.

In March, Mr. Hoffman asked HF Sinclair to stop the union dues deduction from his paycheck. After HF Sinclair received Mr. Hoffman’s revocation, it complied with his request. On June 7, Mr. Hoffman exercised his legal right to resign his membership from the United Steelworkers union. Later that month, HF Sinclair resumed the deduction of dues from Mr. Hoffman’s paycheck without his consent—a blatant violation of the National Labor Relations Act.

Not only does the union contract between HF Sinclair and the United Steelworkers indicate only union members are required to pay dues, it also contains an unlawful provision restricting when employees can resign their membership.

Even though he has received back the money taken from him, Mr. Hoffman continues to challenge United Steelworkers union officials with the aid of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys. Because union officials refuse to admit wrongdoing, Mr. Hoffman is pushing for removal of the illegal provision restricting the right to resign membership in the union, and a notice to be posted to notify his coworkers that may not be aware of their rights.

“Although the dues were returned to me, union officials admitted no fault and offered no apology for their unethical behavior,” Mr. Hoffman remarked. “They should remove the illegal provision in the CBA [union contract] so this does not happen again to my fellow coworkers.”

Because Washington is not a Right to Work state, union-imposed contracts can include mandatory union dues or fees, with nonmember workers fired if they do not pay. However, it is unlawful to restrict when employees can resign union membership. Further, the USW contract at issue did not contain a valid forced-dues clause, only the illegal restriction on resigning from the union.

“We’re glad to see Mr. Hoffman has succeeded in challenging United Steelworkers and HF Sinclair for illegally seizing his dues,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “As this situation shows, greedy union officials often illegally seize money from a worker’s pockets, despite what the law says.”

“Foundation staff attorneys will continue to aid Mr. Hoffman as he continues to help his coworkers make sure they know how to exercise their rights to cut off unwanted union dues,” Mix added.

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.