7 Sep 2018

Michigan EMTs File Class Action Lawsuit Against UAW to Enforce State Right to Work Protections Against Forced Union Payments

Posted in News Releases

Legal action filed in state court after UAW officials collected tens of thousands of dollars in payments in violation of state law, and illegally required workers to join union

Flint, MI (September 6, 2018) – A group of workers filed a class-action lawsuit in Michigan state court against United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 708 and STAT Emergency Medical Services to indicate their rights under the state Right to Work law that makes union membership and dues payments strictly voluntary. The workers filed the lawsuit, which seeks refunds of over $25,000 in illegally seized union dues and fees, with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

The lawsuit asks for injunctive relief and the return of three years of dues and fees that were collected by UAW officials in violation of Michigan’s Right to Work law for private sector workers. As the complaint notes, in addition to the illegal forced dues, the workers have been required to be UAW members and dues were automatically deducted from their paychecks without their authorization, in violation of the law.

Both the required membership and automatic deduction policies violate state labor law. Michigan’s Right to Work law, which was enacted in 2013, protects workers’ choice by outlawing mandatory union membership and union payments as a condition of employment.

The forced-dues monopoly contract was put in place by the UAW in 2015, more than two years after Michigan’s Right to Work protections came into effect. The lawsuit seeks refunds of all illegal dues collected under that contract.

In addition to the class action suit, two of the workers filed federal unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the UAW and their employer, STAT Emergency Medical Services. The federal charges detail the automatic dues deduction despite the lack of a check-off authorization, which violates sections of the National Labor Relations Act.

“Rather than work to earn the voluntary support of rank-and-file workers, union officials are blatantly violating longstanding federal and state law to extract dues from workers,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. “Whether or not a state has Right to Work protections, workers and the Foundation will continue to remain vigilant to ensure that employees’ legal rights are not ignored by Big Labor officials.”

28 Aug 2018

Terranea Resort Concierge Files Charges Against Union for Demanding Organizing Assistance from Company

Posted in News Releases

NLRB Charge: UNITE HERE officials are waging an illegal campaign to coerce Terranea workers into union forced-dues ranks without a vote

Los Angeles, CA (August 27, 2018) – With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a Rancho Palos Verdes resort worker has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) challenging an aggressive organizing campaign being waged by UNITE HERE Local 11 union officials, who are demanding that the resort assist them in forcing their employees into a union.

Sophal Im is a concierge coordinator at the five-star Terranea Resort, which is currently being picketed as part of UNITE HERE Local 11 officials’ campaign against the resort. The charge states that union officials are violating federal labor law by demanding that Terranea assist UNITE HERE Local 11 in forcing Im and his co-workers into the union’s monopoly representation.

Union officials demand that Terranea support their efforts to unionize the employees through a “card check” drive. To force Terranea to comply, union officials have been picketing and attacking the resort for months without filing an election petition. The charge points out that this is illegal because union bosses are not allowed to picket in an attempt to organize a workplace for more than thirty days unless they also file a petition for an NLRB vote.

In union-demanded card check schemes, organizers often pressure, intimidate, or mislead workers into signing cards, which then are counted as “votes” for unionization, bypassing the NLRB-supervised secret ballot election process. If union officials have the support of just 30 percent of workers, they can move for an NLRB-supervised vote to determine whether a majority of workers support unionization. However, UNITE HERE officials haven’t filed for an election at Terranea, instead demanding that the company agree to bypass a secret ballot vote.

Because California lacks a Right to Work law, in a unionized workplace even workers who choose not to be union members can be forced to pay dues or fees to union officials, or else be fired. Im, concerned that he might be forced into accepting and subsidizing a union he opposes as a result of the unions’ aggressive campaign against his employer, came to the National Right to Work Foundation and received free legal aid in filing the charge, which will now be investigated by the NLRB.

“If they have sufficient support from the workers they seek to represent, UNITE HERE union bosses could file for an NLRB secret ballot election at any time,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Because they either lack that support or are too scared workers would reject the union in such a vote, they have instead launched an apparently never-ending campaign designed to bully the employer into handing over the workers so they can be forced to pay union fees.”

“This type of corporate campaign is a clear violation of the National Labor Relations Act and the Labor Board should swiftly move to prosecute union officials for their coercive, underhanded tactics designed to subvert the rights of Mr. Im and his colleagues,” added Mix.

10 Aug 2018

National Right to Work Foundation Attorney to Defend Kentucky’s Right to Work Law at Kentucky Supreme Court

Posted in News Releases

Foundation staff attorney William Messenger, who successfully argued Janus Supreme Court case, will argue for Kentucky workers

Frankfort, KY (August 10, 2018) – This morning, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorney William Messenger will argue before the Kentucky Supreme Court, representing Kentucky workers as interested parties in Zuckerman v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, which Big Labor officials brought as a challenge to the Commonwealth’s Right to Work legislation.

William Messenger was the counsel of record for Mark Janus, whose case at the United States Supreme Court, Janus v. AFSCME, made headlines for ending forced dues for public-sector workers nationwide. Messenger argued before the Supreme Court for Mr. Janus.

Messenger’s upcoming oral argument is on behalf of three Kentucky workers, who filed for and were granted intervention in the case. Although the workers were not originally named as parties to the case, the trial court deemed that because they will be significantly affected by the case’s outcome, they should be allowed to participate in the defense of Kentucky’s Right to Work legislation.

The union officials’ case was dismissed by the Franklin County Circuit Court, which ruled that their claims lacked merit because Right to Work is constitutional. Union lawyers then appealed the case to the Commonwealth’s Supreme Court.

“Union bosses’ arguments against Kentucky’s Right to Work law were rejected in the past by every appellate court to hear them. They should be rejected again by the Kentucky Supreme Court,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The Bluegrass State has seen record economic growth since the enactment of Right to Work. It is shameful that Big Labor wants to undo that just to keep siphoning dues from workers against their will.”

The arguments will be heard on the morning of August 10, 2018 at the Kentucky Supreme Court in Frankfort.

31 Jul 2018

Indiana Worker Files Charges Against Company and Union After Being Forced to Wear Union Logo

Posted in News Releases

A worker at a muffler plant in Indiana has filed federal charges against his employer and local union after being told he couldn’t work if he refused to wear union regalia

Columbus, IN (July 30, 2018) – An Indiana muffler plant employee has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against both his employer and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 1424 for violating his workplace rights. Marshall Hobson filed the charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

Hobson, who resigned his union membership two years ago, filed the charges after he was ordered to purchase and wear shirts at work emblazoned with the union logo. When he refused to buy and wear the union logo shirt, his employer Faurecia – which manufactures mufflers – ordered Hobson to clock out and leave. According to the charge, the decision to send Hobson home was made at the behest of an IBEW union official.

Hobson discovered that union officials and the company had created a contract that explicitly requires even non-union employees to wear union shirts featuring the union logo. Indiana, a Right to Work state, prohibits making union financial support a condition of employment.

As the charges point out, requiring non-union workers to purchase and wear uniforms with union logos unlawfully interferes with the workers’ right to refrain from union activities. The charges will be investigated by the NLRB Region 25 office in Indianapolis, which can prosecute the union and employer for violating federal labor law.

“This case shows that even in Right to Work states, union bosses will use any sneaky tactic to extract money from workers who oppose the union,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “It is outrageous that, despite Mr. Hobson’s wish to remain a non-member, union officials have required him to act as a billboard for the very union he opposes.”

17 Jul 2018

California Restaurant Employees Vote Overwhelmingly to Remove Union after Multiyear Legal Fight

Posted in News Releases

Majority of workers wanted union out in 2014, but Obama Labor Board blocked UNITE-HERE union’s removal for over four years

Sausalito, CA (July 17, 2018) – Workers at Scoma’s of Sausalito, a California restaurant, held a decertification election last Monday, July 10, to remove the UNITE HERE union from their workplace, resulting in a 37-12 landslide vote against the union. The successful election is a culmination of over four years of employee efforts to remove the union’s presence at the restaurant. The restaurant employees received free legal aid from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys in their efforts to exercise their rights to remove the union.

In 2014, restaurant employee Georgina Canche and a majority of her fellow coworkers successfully petitioned their employer to withdraw recognition of UNITE HERE as their monopoly bargaining representative. Despite that a majority of the employees signed the petition and the employer followed procedure established by longstanding labor law, the union filed a federal charge against the employer with the National Labor Relations Board seeking to reinstate its monopoly bargaining powers, regardless of the workers’ petition.

Eventually, the notoriously pro-forced unionism Obama Labor Board sided with union lawyers, and even issued a “bargaining order” that would block attempts by the workers to hold a secret ballot vote to decertify and remove the union. Scoma’s then appealed the case to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which unanimously overturned the “bargaining order” and remanded the case to the Labor Board so that an election could proceed.

Last Monday, following additional delay, the NLRB Regional Director finally conducted a secret ballot decertification election, in which the workers voted 37-12 to remove UNITE HERE from their workplace, making it clear that a vast majority of Scoma’s employees do not accept UNITE HERE’s monopoly representation.

“After years of dilatory legal challenges by union lawyers, the workers of Scoma’s restaurant are finally able to have a say in their own workplace representation,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. “Union officials ought to ask themselves why they refuse to accept election results, and why they spent so much time trying to invalidate the wishes of an overwhelming majority of the workers they purport to represent.”

2 Jul 2018

Workers Ask Supreme Court to Hear Case Challenging Union Policy Limiting Dues Revocations to Brief “Window Period”

Posted in News Releases

Class-action lawsuit for Michigan workers, now before the Supreme Court, says union boss’ limitations on ending forced dues violate workers’ rights

Washington, D.C. (July 2, 2018) – After the Janus decision was announced, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court, asking the Court to review a 6th Circuit Court decision against grocery store employees Robbie Olendorf and Sandra Adams. The two employees of Oleson’s Food Stores in Michigan are pursuing a class action lawsuit with free legal assistance from Foundation staff attorneys. They contend that United Food and Commercial Workers Local 876 (UFCW) union’s check-off revocation restrictions violate federal labor law.

Michigan’s Right to Work protections, which were signed into law by Governor Snyder in 2012, make union membership and financial support strictly voluntary. However, union officials frequently block workers from exercising their legal rights. Robbie Ohlendorf and Sandra Adams, a part-time stocking clerk and a cashier respectively at Oleson’s Foods Stores, found this out when they attempted to exercise their right to end payments to UFCW officials in 2016.

When the two submitted letters to the UFCW Local 876 revoking their authorization for the union to collect dues, UFCW officials rejected their attempt. The officials cited a “window period” and certified mail rule, which require any revocation to take place only in an arbitrary union-defined time period and only by certified mail.

Believing UFCW’s policies violated their rights, Ohlendorf and Adams turned to National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys for help. With free Foundation-provided legal representation, the pair filed a federal class-action lawsuit in December 2016 against UFCW Local 876. They brought the lawsuit on the grounds that union officials’ restrictions violate their statutory rights and breach the union’s duty of fair representation by limiting dues revocations to a “window period” and demanding that such requests be made via certified mail.

After a Western Michigan District Court judge ruled that the dues deduction authorizations containing the restrictions were binding, Ohlendorf and Adams appealed the decision to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which in March declined to overturn the district court’s ruling. For the first time, the Court of Appeals also held that employees cannot bring a lawsuit statutorily challenging a union’s restrictions on revocations.

If their petition is granted and the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, the two workers’ lawsuit may have a resounding impact on whether employees can sue in federal courts to challenge union-imposed window periods, which are frequently used by union officials to prevent workers from exercising their legal right to stop dues payments in Right to Work states.

“Unions have a long history of using these so-called ‘window period’ rules to block workers from exercising their legal rights and continue to seize forced dues against their will,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Even in Right to Work states, Big Labor officials will concoct new methods to keep extracting dues from workers—and now the Supreme Court will have a chance to weigh in and potentially put an end to these abusive union practices.”

“Arbitrary union limitations on ending dues payments violates union officials’ duty not to use their government-granted monopoly powers to discriminate against workers who exercise their legal rights to resign from union ranks,” continued Mix.

12 Jun 2018

Wisconsin Mill Worker Asks Labor Board General Counsel to Prosecute Steelworkers Union for Rule Blocking Dues Revocation

Posted in News Releases

Union officials’ arbitrary rule forces workers to wait 13-months to cut off dues payments and exercise rights under Wisconsin Right to Work law

Washington, D.C. (June 12, 2018) – An employee of a Wisconsin paper mill has filed an appeal with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel with free legal aid by National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys. The filing asks the NLRB’s top prosecutor to review a decision by an NLRB regional office, which declined to bring charges against a local union whose policy makes workers wait up to 13 months before they can revoke their dues authorization and exercise their rights under Wisconsin’s popular Right to Work law.

Since 2015, Wisconsin’s Right to Work protections make union membership and financial support strictly voluntary. However, union officials blocked workers from exercising their rights under the law. Donald Dillabough, an employee at Clearwater Paper Corporation, found this out when he attempted to exercise his right to end payments to the United Steelworkers (USW).

In December 2017, Dillabough emailed the USW resigning from the union and revoking his authorization for the union to collect dues payments from his paychecks. Despite his revocation, USW union officials denied his request to end payments by claiming his request was not submitted during a union-created “window period.” The union had established an arbitrary 13-month waiting period in between windows in which employees can withdraw their membership.

In February, represented by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Mr. Dillabough filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union contending that the 13-month window period rule violates his rights under the National Labor Relations Act. However, the regional office declined to issue a complaint against the union. Now, Mr. Dillabough has appealed to the NLRB’s General Counsel, Peter Robb, who can overturn the decision not to prosecute the USW local for the union’s policy.

“Even in states like Wisconsin, where union dues payments are by law supposed to be completely voluntary, union bosses frequently employ window period schemes in an attempt to trap workers into paying forced dues against their will,” said National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Wisconsin’s Right to Work law protects an employee’s right to choose whether or not to join and financially support a union. In their zeal to seize forced dues for as long as possible, USW union officials have violated longstanding Labor Board precedent, and the General Counsel should defend Mr. Dillabough’s rights by initiating a prosecution against the USW for this illegal policy.”

4 Jan 2017

What is a Right to Work law?

Posted in Blog

A Right to Work law guarantees that no person can be compelled, as a condition of employment, to join or not to join, nor to pay dues to a labor union.

For more, read our Frequently Asked Questions page.

11 Oct 2016

Illinois Civil Servants File Appeal in Case to Overturn Union Boss Forced Dues Powers

Posted in News Releases

National Right to Work Foundation assisting government workers seeking to protect their First Amendment rights by ending mandatory union dues

Chicago, IL (October 11, 2016) – Two Illinois government employees have filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to continue their case challenging the constitutionality of government union officials forced-dues privileges. The workers, all employed by the State of Illinois are currently required to pay union dues or fees to a union as a condition of their employment.

A District Judge recently dismissed the case, Janus v. AFSCME, and the two employees, who are receiving free legal assistance from staff attorneys with the National Right to Work Foundation and the Illinois Policy Institute’s Liberty Justice Center, have now formally filed their appeal of that dismissal.

National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix issued the following statement regarding the latest development in the case:

“No citizen should be forced to pay union dues or fees just to work for their own government. This is a fundamental violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the violation is especially egregious for public servants who are currently required to pay dues to a private organization just to work for their own government. We are hopeful that the United States Supreme Court will soon outlaw this unjust practice for every public employee across the country.”

5 Oct 2016

National Right to Work Foundation Defending West Virginia Right to Work Law

Posted in News Releases

Foundation files another brief in Big Labor’s lawsuit arguing union boss forced dues powers should be dismissed

Charleston, WV (October 5, 2016) – National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys filed an amicus curiae brief in Kanawha County Circuit Court supporting the state of West Virginia’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by 10 state unions. The brief was filed for the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation joined by The National Federation of Independent Businesses Small Businesses Legal Center.

The Foundation previously filed another amicus brief in the case in August, asking the judge to reject union arguments for a preliminary injunction because West Virginia’s Right to Work Law is no different than the other 25 state Right to Work Laws which have withstood intense legal scrutiny for over 60 years, and never been struck down by a federal court or a state appellate court.

Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Bailey had announced at a hearing in August that she intended to grant a preliminary injunction. However, the judge has not since issued an injunction order. In the meantime, the parties were required to file dispositive motions by October 4. Consequently, Foundation attorneys have filed another brief to grant the State’s motion for summary judgement and uphold the Right to Work law, just as the U.S. Supreme Court and other appellate courts have held constitutional other state Right to Work laws.

The National Right to Work Foundation has a long history of successfully defending Right to Work laws in state and federal court, most recently in Indiana and Michigan. Foundation attorneys have also filed briefs in union lawsuits challenging Wisconsin and Idaho’s Right to Work laws.

“West Virginia’s Right to Work law should stand just like the 25 other state laws in place. Union officials are advancing an outrageous and rejected legal theory that attempts to create some kind of ‘right’ for them to extort money from workers forced to accept unions’ so-called representation,” Foundation President Mark Mix commented. “Instead of working to overturn Right to Work so they can order workers fired for refusing to pay, West Virginia union officials ought to be asking themselves why they are so afraid to give workers a choice as to union dues and fees.”

After the West Virginia Legislature overrode Governor Tomblin’s veto and became the 26th Right to work state on February 4, the National Right to Work Foundation announced an offer of free legal aid to any employees seeking to assert their rights under the new law. The Foundation also created a special task force to defend the West Virginia law, which went into full effect July 1, from any Big Labor legal challenges.