After employees pushed to remove the union, SEIU bosses gave up their workplace privileges to avoid an embarrassing election loss

St. Louis, MO (January 14, 2016) – On the eve of an election that almost certainly would have resulted in a defeat for SEIU Healthcare IL/IN/MO/KS, union officials renounced their workplace bargaining privileges over approximately 170 Des Peres Hospital employees.

In late December 2015, a Des Peres employee, who received free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, submitted a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) asking for a vote to remove the SEIU. The employee-led drive to remove the union prompted the NLRB to schedule a union decertification election for January 13, but that vote was cancelled after union officials announced they were “disclaiming representation” and walking away from the Des Peres bargaining unit. The affected employees consisted of technicians, secretaries, and other hospital support staff.

Because Missouri lacks a Right to Work law, union officials can be empowered to require all employees in a given workplace – including those who don’t belong to or support the union – to pay dues or fees. The contract between Des Peres Hospital and SEIU Healthcare IL/IN/MO/KS included a provision that required all employees in the bargaining unit, including nonmembers, to contribute money to the union. Now that the union has left, these 170 employees can no longer be forced to pay dues to the SEIU.

“SEIU officials read the writing on the wall and fled before these employees could vote them out,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “We are happy to report that these workers are now free from the burden of paying dues to an organization they don’t support.”

“Unfortunately, many of their fellow Missouri employees aren’t so lucky,” continued Mix. “That’s why Missouri should make all union dues completely voluntary by adopting a Right to Work law.”

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.