Washington, DC (October 6, 2004) - The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Regional Director has filed a formal complaint – ordered by the NLRB’s General Counsel – against a Daimler-Chrysler subsidiary for withholding pay raises as part of a strategy to coerce employees into ceding to unwanted unionization.

Meanwhile, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys helped Freightliner employees David Roach and Mike Ivey file a second unfair labor practice charge alleging the United Auto Workers (UAW) union and the company engaged in unlawful premature bargaining over numerous substantive terms and conditions of employment – despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of employees signed a petition opposing the UAW union’s organizing efforts.

The NLRB complaint targets the withholding of scheduled pay increases as a way of coercing employees to select UAW union officials as their workplace representative. Documents obtained by Foundation attorneys indicated that company officials posted notices announcing that previous increases were delayed because of the union organizing campaign.

Approximately 70 percent of the plant’s employees signed a petition stating that they reject union affiliation and prefer to negotiate directly with company officials over wages and benefits. However, the UAW union and Freightliner continued to enforce a “neutrality agreement” that included a series of prearranged terms and conditions of employment in exchange for active employer assistance during the union organizing drive.

Under most “neutrality agreements,” union organizers are given full access to non-union employees’ personal information and company facilities. Also, workers are usually denied the ability to decide their representation through a secret ballot election, and union operatives are allowed to sign up workers under a coercive “card check” authorization scheme.

“Freightliner and UAW officials cut a backroom deal to corral workers into union affiliation against their wishes by holding their wage increase hostage,” said Foundation Vice President Stefan Gleason [1]. “While an overwhelming majority of workers simply don’t want the union around, Freightliner and the UAW union are refusing to get the message.”

The issuance of this complaint follows precedent-setting orders issued last month by the NLRB General Counsel that unfair labor practice complaints be issued in a series of employee cases challenging organized labor’s predominant “card check” organizing method. Foundation attorneys convinced NLRB General Counsel Arthur Rosenfeld also to issue complaints based on unfair labor practice charges filed by workers who found themselves targeted for organization by the unwanted UAW union at Dana Corporation’s plants in Bristol, Virginia, and St. Johns, Michigan.

The NLRB has scheduled a November 15 hearing before an Administrative Law Judge to prosecute the Freightliner complaint.