News reports indicate that Teamsters union officials have issued a strike notice against trucking company Yellow, with a strike to commence as early as Monday, July 24. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation has issued the following Special Legal Notice for the over 20,000 impacted Yellow employees.
The Foundation is the nation’s premier organization exclusively dedicated to providing free legal assistance to employee victims of forced unionism abuse, and frequently provides free legal aid and information to workers who wish to resist union officials’ strike orders.
All Yellow employees should know they have the right to resign their membership in the Teamsters union and continue to do their jobs. However, because federal law regarding union membership is complex and because union officials often threaten workers who refuse to strike with ruinous fines or other punishments, we recommend you read this entire legal notice before taking action. We also recommend you reach out to Foundation attorneys for free legal advice regarding your specific situation.
We especially urge workers to reach out to Foundation staff attorneys if they experience violence or intimidation from Teamsters union officials at any point during the strike. Teamsters union militants have resorted to violence during previous strikes, and Foundation attorneys have successfully assisted workers in obtaining justice after such illegal activity.
The Foundation wants you to learn about your legal rights from independent sources. You should not rely on what self-interested union officials tell you. Yellow employees who may want to work during a strike should know they have the following rights:
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You have the right to resign your membership in the union. If you don’t support the union, you can send the union a letter resigning your membership at any time. Visit this page for an explanation of your rights regarding union membership resignation.
NOTE: While not legally required, a good practice is to send your written resignation to the union by certified mail, with tracking number, and save a copy of the letter and the tracking number to prove delivery. If you hand-deliver a resignation, make sure that you have a reliable witness to the delivery. Consider sending multiple copies to different union officials so they cannot deny receipt, including via fax, email, or overnight delivery services.
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Employees who resign their membership (or are already nonmembers) have the right to work even if the union bosses order a strike. Union officials can (and often do) fine union members thousands of dollars for working during a strike. Consequently, you should seriously consider resigning your union membership before you return to work during a strike to avoid fines and discipline. Your resignation letter must be postmarked the day before you return to work or hand-delivered before you return to work.
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If you work in a state with Right to Work protections, you have a right to cut off all payments of dues and fees to the union if you don’t support its activities. Under Right to Work laws, union membership and union financial support are strictly voluntary. This means that you have a right to resign your membership AND opt-out of all union financial support if you work in a Right to Work state. See this page for a detailed explanation of your rights and this page for a full list of Right to Work states.
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If you do not work in a state with Right to Work protections, you at least have a right to opt-out of dues payments for union politics, and may be able to avoid other union financial support. In non-Right to Work states, union officials can only mandate that employees pay dues or fees as a condition of employment if the union and management have finalized a contract that contains a valid forced-dues clause.
If there is no contract in effect, you cannot be forced to pay any union dues or fees. If you find that union dues or fees have been demanded or seized from your pay without a contract being in place, please seek free legal aid from the Foundation. If you signed a dues authorization form allowing Yellow to extract dues directly from your paycheck, Foundation attorneys can assist you in trying to revoke that form.
If you work in a state that lacks Right to Work protections AND union officials have finalized a contract with a valid forced-dues clause, Teamsters bosses can unfortunately force you to pay some union fees in order to keep your job, even as a nonmember. However, there are still limitations on how much and under what circumstances you can legally be required to pay. You have the right to cut off dues payments for union politics and other expenses unrelated to the union’s bargaining functions, as per the Foundation-won Communications Workers v. Beck (1988) Supreme Court decision. A sample letter for employees who wish to resign their union membership, revoke their dues check-off, and exercise their right under Beck to opt-out of dues deductions for union politics and other non-bargaining expenses is available here.
We know you are busy, and we know that strikes can create tension within a workplace and a lot of confusion regarding your legal rights. If you have any questions about the rights listed above or any of your other rights, do not hesitate to contact Foundation staff attorneys for free legal help at 1-800-336-3600 or at https://www.nrtw.org/free-legal-aid/.
