Worker Decertification and Deauthorization Drives

AFL-CIO Launches Sneak Attack on Nation’s Non-Union Railway and Airline Workers

Anthony Riedel — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:55:53 -0500

Washington, DC (November 3, 2009) – America’s preeminent workers’ rights advocacy organization raised the alarm about an under-the-radar attempt by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and 30 other unions to make a dramatic change to labor regulations, enabling union organizers to corral tens of thousands of non-union railway and airline industry workers into union membership.

Yesterday, the National Mediation Board (NMB), a government agency charged under the Railway Labor Act with mediating labor disputes within the railroad and airline industries, voted 2-1 to preliminarily support the controversial changes. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation sent a letter objecting to the AFL-CIO union’s proposals and the NMB is requesting comments on the proposed changes. The Foundation will file formal comments in the coming days.

California Union Bosses Seek to Compel Philadelphia Nurse to Attend Private Hearing for Opposing Forced Unionization

Will Collins — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:09:13 -0400

Philadelphia, PA (September 22, 2009) – Today, National Right to Work Foundation attorneys filed unfair labor practice charges for Kimberly Hummel, a Philadelphia nurse who has been subpoenaed to testify at a private arbitration hearing for daring to oppose a backroom deal between Hahnemann University Hospital and the California Nurses Association (CNA) union.

In June 2009, the CNA union decisively lost a so-called “consent election” to determine if Hahnemann employees would be forced to accept union monopoly bargaining. Despite a coercive deal between union bosses and hospital officials that gave CNA organizers preferential access to hospital facilities, circumvented federal oversight, and prevented nurses from discussing the downsides of unionization, Hahnemann University Hospital employees voted against the CNA, 309 to 267.

Federal Labor Board Agrees to Review Deauthorization Drive to Strip Forced Dues Power from Union at LA Times

Will Collins — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:42:11 -0400

Los Angeles, CA (August 17, 2009) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has agreed to reconsider a controversial preliminary decision denying attempts by Los Angeles Times employees to remove a mandatory dues clause from the newspaper’s union contract. Attorneys from the National Right to Work Foundation are providing free legal assistance to workers seeking to rid themselves of any forced dues obligation.

Over the past six months, union officials from the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (GCC/IBT) Local 140-N union have repeatedly ordered Leon Carey, Jr. and similarly situated employees to pay union dues or face lawsuits in California civil court, citing a clause in the union’s contract with the Los Angeles Times.

Fearing Vote on Its Forced Dues Powers, Union Hierarchy Gives up Monopoly Bargaining Privileges

Will Collins — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:39:27 -0400

New Cumberland, PA (July 21, 2009) – Facing an imminent deauthorization election initiated by New Cumberland air traffic controllers, National Association of Air Traffic Control Services (NATCA) union officials have renounced their monopoly bargaining privileges and withdrawn from the bargaining unit entirely.

After receiving notice of the impending election, the union hierarchy apparently recognized that it was not wanted by employees and walked away to avoid further embarrassment.

Nurses Eject Unwanted CNA Union from Tenet Hospital in Philadelphia

Will Collins — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:57:57 -0400

Philadelphia, PA (July 8, 2009) – After enduring a coercive union organizing campaign and harassment by union militants, a Philadelphia-area nurse successfully ejected the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) union, a local affiliate of the national California Nurses Association (CNA) union, from Hahnemann University Hospital.

Certifying the results, federal supervisors from the National Labor Relations Board announced that PASNAP lost the election, 309 votes to 267. Union officials may no longer force nurses to accept their “representation.”

Kimberly Hummel of Deptford, New Jersey is employed as a nurse at Hahnemann University Hopsital, a medical facility owned and operated by Tenet Healthcare Corporation. After CNA organizers muscled into the hospital using a controversial “Election Procedures Agreement” (EPA), Hummel criticized the hospital’s support for union organizers.

Union Settles Lawsuit Alleging Identity Theft in Retaliation Campaign against Independent Worker

Will Collins — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:25:21 -0400

Hartford, Connecticut (May 19, 2009) – National Right to Work Foundation attorneys have successfully negotiated a settlement with the Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 1103 union for Patricia Pelletier, a worker who was targeted by CWA operatives for a vicious campaign of retaliation after she attempted to remove the union from her workplace.

Connecticut’s lack of a Right to Work law compelled Pelletier, a Hartford-based employee of the Connecticut Student Loan Foundation, to pay union dues as a condition of employment. Dissatisfied with the union’s presence in her workplace, Pelletier exercised her legal right to circulate a decertification petition to eject the union. Her co-workers ultimately voted to remove the unpopular union, but CWA operatives responded by allegedly forging Pelletier’s signature on numerous magazine subscriptions and consumer product solicitations.

Nurses Seek Ejection of Union at Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center; Union Bows Out Of Two Other Hospitals

Will Collins — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:30:12 -0400

Houston, Texas (May 12, 2009) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, nurses at the Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center have filed a decertification petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to remove an unwanted union from their workplace.

The nurses’ decertification petition comes on the heels of the California Nurses Association (CNA) union’s decision to withdraw its controversial petitions for unionization at the Park Plaza and Houston Northwest medical centers. Hospital employees became increasingly disillusioned with union officials after many nurses raised concerns about conflict in the workplace and the quality of patient care.

Truck Drivers and Dockworkers Fight Back Against Teamster Union Intimidation

Anthony Riedel — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:52:01 -0500

Seattle, Washington (March 5, 2009) – Employees from nine collective bargaining units of Oak Harbor Freight Lines, Inc. have filed decertification petitions seeking elections to oust the Teamster union as the workers’ monopoly bargaining agent.

With help from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, the employees – drivers and dockworkers – filed the decertification petitions with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking secret ballot elections to determine whether the workforce wants to retain the Teamster union as their monopoly bargaining agent.

UAW Tries to Block Employee Election to Toss Out Union at JCIM Grand Rapids

Anthony Riedel — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:47:58 -0500

Grand Rapids, MI (January 13, 2009) – A majority of Johnson Controls (JCIM) employees at the Talon Court facility in Kentwood have filed a decertification petition seeking an election to oust the United Auto Workers (UAW) union as the JCIM workers’ monopoly bargaining agent, but UAW union lawyers argued in a formal hearing yesterday that the employees should be barred from access to a decertification election.

Majority of Workers at JCIM Grand Rapids Plant Seek Ejection of UAW Union

Anthony Riedel — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:21:31 -0500

Grand Rapids, MI - With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a Johnson Controls (JCIM) employee at the Talon Court facility in Kentwood has filed a decertification petition seeking an election to oust the United Auto Workers (UAW) union as the JCIM workers’ monopoly bargaining agent.

The development is another blow to the UAW union hierarchy which has taken a major public relations hit in recent months because of its role in driving the Big Three automakers to the brink of bankruptcy.