High Point, NC (October 28, 2013) – A local Thomas Built Buses worker has filed a federal charge against the company for turning a blind eye to harassment she has received for exercising her right to refrain and inform her coworkers of their right to refrain from union membership.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Tracy McLaughlin filed the unfair labor practice charge yesterday with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

United Auto Worker (UAW) Local 5287 union officials obtained monopoly bargaining powers over the workplace in 2006 after union and company officials cut a deal to force union “representation” on the workers.

In her charge, McLaughlin states that union officials have harassed her because she has exercised her right under North Carolina’s popular Right to Work law to refrain from membership in the UAW Local 5287 union. McLaughlin states that she has also been harassed because she informs her coworkers of their right to refrain from union membership and dues payments.

In her charge, McLaughlin recounts that in June 2013, Thomas Built management refused to address her claim that a union official falsely accused her of harassment in attempt to get her disciplined. Instead of providing her information on how to file internal company disciplinary charges, Thomas Built management instead suggested she get counseling.

McLaughlin also recounts in her charge a September 2013, incident in which a union official falsely accused her of calling a union member a “terrorist” in an attempt to get her disciplined for her efforts in informing her coworkers of their rights under the state’s Right to Work law.

After company management threatened to fire McLaughlin, she brought witnesses to substantiate her account of the incident. Company management ignored her account and the witnesses. When she asked why union members get to resolve their problems by presenting witnesses in a timely manner, company management told her that if she wanted representation, she would have to join the union.

“No worker should be forced to join a union in order to receive fair treatment in the workplace,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Thomas Built management needs to stop discriminating against workers based on their union membership status.”

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.