Worker Slaps Construction Union Bosses with Federal Charge for Job Discrimination

Electrical worker union officials obstruct worker from getting work

Chicago, IL (July 19, 2012) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a nonunion Chicago-area construction worker has filed a federal charge against the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and two of its local affiliate unions for discriminating against him on account of his union membership status.

Construction worker John Lugo filed the charge against the IBEW Local 697 and IBEW Local 601 unions with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Monday.

Because IBEW union bosses claim monopoly bargaining privileges over all the workers in his workplaces, Lugo, who refrains from formal union membership, is still forced to accept union officials’ so-called “representation” and go through the union’s hiring halls to find employment.

Federal labor law provides that union bosses must “fairly represent” workers, including those who have exercised their right to refrain from union membership, if union bosses claim exclusive representational powers over the workers.

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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.