SYRACUSE, N.Y. (July 17, 2002) — Responding to charges filed by attorneys with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) prosecutors have forced the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 200 to refund illegally seized union dues from employees of the Marsellus Casket Company.

This is the second time the NLRB has issued a formal complaint against SEIU Local 200 in the past year. Under the NLRB’s original settlement, issued in November, SEIU Local 200 officials were ordered to refund the employees’ dues and fees that were used for non-representational purposes. Union officials disregarded the agreement and continued illegally seizing workers’ dues to pay for union politics.

“What incredible arrogance. These union officials just thumbed their noses at the government’s prosecutors and the employees they claim to represent,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The actions of SEIU officials suggest that they will do virtually anything to keep money flowing into their political operations.”

As part of the second settlement, the NLRB has also mandated the union must post a notice alerting workers and employees of the Marsellus Casket Company of their right to refrain from formal union membership and the payment of full union dues.

The settlement also requires SEIU union officials to notify objecting workers what percentage of their dues is being used to fund non-representational activities, including political activities. Under law, an employee may resign from formal union membership, pay a reduced fee, and further challenge the veracity of the union’s figures.

The case was originally filed in July 2001 by Foundation attorneys for three company employees, Mark L. Miller, Scott Bayer, and David Sprague. SEIU officials violated the workers’ rights established by the U.S. Supreme Court Communications Workers v. Beck decision. Under Beck, a case that Foundation attorneys argued and won, workers may halt and reclaim forced union dues spent on politics and other activities unrelated to collective bargaining.

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.