Brenda Lee Orr, a Honloulu hotel employee, has just filed another round of federal unfair labor practice charges against the UNITE HERE Local 5 union with the help of Foundation staff attorneys. According to an audited breakdown of UNITE HERE's finances, Orr was forced to pay for political lobbying and a union strike fund despite the fact that she is not a union member.
Because Hawaii lacks a Right to Work law, Orr and other nonunion employees can be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment. However, nonunion workers cannot be compelled to pay for union politics or other activities unrelated to workplace bargaining.
Regular readers may recall that UNITE HERE Local 5 is already facing charges from several other Honlulu hotel workers. This isn't the first time the union has tangled with Orr, either. In 2009, UNITE HERE officials agreed to refund a substantial chunk of Orr's union dues after they were caught using her money for political activism.
Despite years of litigation, UNITE HERE bosses still haven't learned their lesson. That's why Hawaiian workers need a Right to Work law, which would ensure that no employee is forced to join or pay dues to a union just to get or keep a job.
Comments
Go where you want
Mrs Orr this is america, if you don't want to pay union dues than go work at one of the non-union shops. There are thousands of jobs that are not union that you could work for and you wouldn't have to worry about sueing anyone.
What's that the non-union jobs don't pay as well!! Wonder Why???
Maybe because their workers are individually given the speach about the company not making any money, or were in a recession and you should be happy to working, or ask in a couple of months wheh things pick up...SURE
90% of jobs available are non-union
10% of jobs available are union
If you don't like union, than work for someone who is not. Your not forced to do anything, it's america.
Living Wage
Living wage would refer to a person being able to comfortably afford a house, a car, to raise kids, and every once in a blue moon have a small vacation. But in the ever growing race to the bottom these few priceless things are unaffordable to masses. While a lush few enjoy these and much much more.
I have been in a building and trades union since I graduated in '99, and have had the fortunate ability to maintain these few things except a vacation. I only have made on average 40k to 45k, and that's in my last 7 years after going through our apprenticeship to become a journeyman roofer. I don't spend money on items that are outpriced our unreasonable, and I try to buy american union or not. Total house income is around 60k with wife. We are finding it increasingly hard to maintain our house and living conditions.
I'm a proud union member for I know the other companies that are not, do not offer health care, pensions, death benefits, and training. They also pay very low wages and offer these benefits at an extra cost, maybe. I've talked to hundreds of non-union roofers and they have learned to do with out these simple things. Yes there are a few at each shop who make a decent wage and some benefits, but the general workers and laborers are left with scraps. Most are very deserving of a better wage equal to their counterparts but say nothing in fear of losing what job they do have. Yes some are not as efficient as others but we are all working togther to finish a product. And when the business owner is making 10-20x what his workers are making it is sad, and should be criminal. I understand they take alot of risk in being a business owner and they do deserve to make more, but not at the expense of others.
And please don't tell me how my union is sending jobs overseas. I roof commercial buildings and I don't see anyone moving their building overseas to get roofed and then come back. Also we pay for our own pensions, health care, and apprenticeships with our OWN money and not the tax payer. My union does not have some form of TENURE, if your not worth the money your making you get let go to work for the other companies who hire for LESS. So please quit refering to every union as corrupt and overpaid, not every union operates the same.
Union thugs
This to "living wage": Sorry, but I too have been around unions almost all my working life, (but, fortunately was not the slave of one). EVERY union I have observed is corrupt, every one. Regarding the "...the business owner is making 10-20x what his workers are making it is sad, and should be criminal." statement, who the hell gave you the right to tell someone else how little he or she can EARN from the investment of their time and money? If that bit of communism is enacted, you can watch and preside over the biggest loss of investment money and business growth this country will ever see. It's not your money. Shut up.
Slave
I talked to a roofer making only $4 an hour, that Don is illegal and criminal to pay someone under minimum wage. There's corruption in everything we do as humans, even in the church's. And no it is not right.
And I never stated how much or little a person can make from their investments. What I did write if you could read and comprehend was it is immoral and should be criminal to pay workers less than a living wage, while making 10-20 times what their employees are making. The owner of a company can not replace a roof by hisself and therefore should reward his employees with a living wage.
The biggest loss of investment money was during this trickle down econonmics effect that so many business owners talk about. Don maybe it is you who should shut up and go back to school to learn how to comprehend what you are reading. O' wait you probably live in a RTW state which historically are the lowest in school test scores.