Over at the Times Herald’s opinion section, another union boss whined about the growing Right to Work movement in Michigan. The ex construction union chief had this to say:

“If Michigan becomes a right-to-work state, you might as well pack your bags and leave it.”

The problem is (as we have repeatedly reported here) Michiganders are already leaving the state – precisely because of Big Labor’s forced unionism stranglehold. The lack of a Right to Work law has not only deprived employees of their freedom of association, but it has also contributed to Michigan’s skyrocketing unemployment levels and heavy taxes.

Right to Work laws guarantee 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. It’s no wonder Michiganders are packing their bags for Right to Work states.

Let’s hope that this situation changes before the state’s economy collapses.

Employees Hit Union with Federal Charges After Being Slapped with $120,000 in Illegal Retaliatory Fines

Union officials levy confiscatory fines after employees exercised rights to resign from formal union membership and worked to eject union

Oostburg, WI (January 7, 2008) – With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, four Pre-Heat, Inc. employees have filed federal charges against the Sheet Metal Workers International Association union for exorbitant and illegal retaliatory fines levied against them.

The employees, led by Patrick Keefe, filed the unfair labor practice charges at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Sheet Metal Workers Local 18. Union officials hit them with fines of $30,000 each after they resigned their formal union membership and returned to work during a union-ordered strike. Nonunion members are not subject to internal union discipline.

Following their resignations, Keefe and his coworkers also began gathering signatures for a decertification election, an NLRB-supervised secret ballot election to oust a union, which is generally an uphill battle for workers to obtain. However, the employees’ efforts resulted in a majority of employees signing the petition to oust the unpopular union, and Pre-Heat, Inc. then withdrew recognition from the union because it no longer had the employees’ support.

After the strike ended, in November 2007, union officials ordered Keefe and his four coworkers to attend a Sheet Metal Workers union internal kangaroo court held for the purpose of punishing them for exercising their legal rights. Union agent Patrick Landgraf charged the employees with violating the union’s constitution. In his written statement during the union trial, Landgraf claimed Keefe and the others “selfishly crossed” the picket line for “this rat contractor” and accused the employees of preventing the union from obtaining a new contract. Landgraf did not mention that his union had been resoundingly rejected by the workers.

Because they were not members of the union, Keefe and the other employees chose not to show up at the “trial.” In their absence, the union’s Executive Board found the employees “guilty” of all charges, fining them a total of $120,000. Sheet Metal Workers union officials ordered Keefe and the three other workers to pay the illegally imposed fines within 30 days.

“It is unconscionable for union bosses to attempt to drive workers into the poorhouse in vicious retaliation for returning to work,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “This union intimidation is all too common in states like Wisconsin where there is no Right to Work law on the books.”

A Right to Work law secures the right of employees to decide for themselves whether or not to join or financially support a union. The NLRB’s Regional Office will now investigate the charges and decide whether to issue a formal complaint and prosecute the union.

The following movie clip is actual FBI undercover footage of a United Transportation Union (UTU) bagman accepting a cash bribe on behalf of the union’s president.
The footage underscores why the National Right to Work Foundation is leading the fight to free America’s workers from forced unionism, and how compulsory unionism and corruption go hand-in-hand.

Since last spring, United Auto Workers (UAW) union officials have had Foxwoods Resort Casino workers in its sights. Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation runs Foxwoods Resort Casino, which happens to be one of the most successful casinos in the world.

Following an election held in November, Foxwoods filed unfair labor practices at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—citing a whopping 12 objections to the UAW union’s organizing tactics.

TheDay.com has the story:

The tribe also questioned why the ballots were not multilingual and alleged that UAW representatives harassed and intimidated eligible voters before the election.

Sadly, it’s all too common for union organizers to mislead or even harass employees during a unionization drive.

With the charges, the NLRB began its hearings over the dispute yesterday. A casino employee described the UAW union’s threatening tactics:

…one dealer…“was chased by car out of the employee parking lot and almost forced into a concrete barrier.”

The outcome of the NLRB hearing could have national implications, as union officials could be granted monopoly bargaining privileges over the largest tribal casino in the nation—leaving the door open for the UAW union (and others) to sink their teeth in at other tribal casinos.

Butte-Based Teamsters Union Backs Down After Timber Trucker Files Federal Charges for Illegal Threats to Job

Union officials threatened trucker’s termination in retaliation for his refraining from formal union membership

Butte, MT (January 16, 2008) – To avoid federal prosecution by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a local union had no choice but to withdraw illegal termination threats against a Kalispell-based employee of Hanson Trucking and Resin Haulers Inc. and return all forced dues plus interest to the timber trucker.

The agreement, won by National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys, requires Teamsters Local 2 union officials to reimburse Michael Weller full union back dues plus 10 percent interest on all dues paid. Teamsters officials also promised to provide full financial disclosure of the use of Weller’s forced dues, as required by law.

With help from Foundation attorneys, Weller filed charges in October 2007 at the NLRB against the Teamsters Local 2 union to protect himself from union threats that he would be fired from his job for refusing to join the union. The charges cite that Teamsters Local 2 union officials attempted to collect ongoing and back forced union dues, while failing to provide Weller with a verified audited breakdown of union chargeable and non-chargeable expenses.

After learning of his right to refrain from formal union membership independent of Teamsters Local 2, Weller sent letters to union officials asserting his right not to be forced to pay more than the documented cost of monopoly bargaining. Because the union responded with threats against his job, Weller had no choice but to pay under protest hundreds of dollars in forced union dues – using a money order.

“This legal battle would never have been necessary if the State of Montana did not have an outrageous policy of forced unionism,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Until Montana passes a Right to Work law that ensures that payment of union dues is strictly voluntary, union officials will inevitably continue to victimize and extort money from dissenting employees.”

In the Foundation-won Communications Workers of America v. Beck decision, which applies to forced unionism states, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employees working under the National Labor Relations Act are entitled to resign from formal union membership, but can still be forced to pay for activities related to union monopoly bargaining. However, they cannot be compelled to pay for other costs such as union political activities.

Additionally, a union collecting forced dues must have an independent third party audit its expenditures and verify that the percentage of dues that non-members are forced to pay does not include political spending and other non-collective bargaining expenses.

Sherwood Cox, a critical-care nurse and a trauma clinician, has worked in the healthcare industry almost his entire life. Throughout his career, his admiration for the special relationship nurses develop with their patients motivated him to help those in need and become the best nurse possible.

But in 2003, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) launched a campaign to impose unionization on employees at the Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, California, where he works. Sherwood found himself fighting not only for the patients he cared for, but for the other nurses he worked alongside.

Although the SEIU union’s organizing efforts failed, soon afterwards Sherwood and other nurses found themselves targets of a coercive California Nurses Association (CNA) union organizing scheme. Without warning, the CNA union and Sherwood’s employer (Tenet Heath Care) entered into a so-called “neutrality agreement,” which granted union officials extraordinary access to employees, including access to hundreds of nurses’ personal information.

Outraged and armed with information about the negative effects of compulsory unionism and so-called “neutrality agreements,” Sherwood distributed informative flyers to his coworkers. However, CNA union operatives quickly tried to intimidate Sherwood by sending a flyer to the homes of hundreds of his fellow nurses. The flyer thuggishly depicted him as being a “puppet of management” and portrayed a squashed nurse dripping from his shoe.

Many nurses were outraged with the CNA union’s tactics, and Sherwood was heartened to learn that his coworkers formally rejected the “representation” of CNA union officials.

However, fearing for his safety, Sherwood turned to the National Right to Work Foundation for help. Since 2004, Foundation attorneys have helped Sherwood file numerous unfair labor practice charges against his employer and the CNA union.

During the CNA union’s final election drive, Sherwood – along with two National Labor Relations Board representatives, three union organizers, and hospital management – witnessed the counting of votes. In the end, a majority of nurses again voted against forced unionization of the hospital.

By maintaining a website (www.stopunions.com) Sherwood continues to protect his and all other employees’ right to choose or reject unionization. Additionally, National Right to Work Foundation attorneys have filed a “Friend of the Court” brief in the pending United States Supreme Court case, Chamber of Commerce v. Brown, referencing Sherwood’s harrowing experience.

Sherwood In His Own Words...

“By the end of the day, I received several more calls – some by nurses actually crying and fearing for my safety. Many [nurses] were also frightened and outraged that the union had used information obtained from the neutrality agreement for such an underhanded attack.” –Sherwood describing how many nurses felt deceived after union officials distributed a misleading flyer about him

“CNA organizers confronted me that morning, taking my photograph and calling me names.” – Sherwood discussing CNA union operatives’ intimidation tactics

“The final tally was 170 to 149 against unionizing! We had beaten the CNA union a second time on their terms.” –Sherwood expressing the relief he felt after beating back two CNA union organizing drives

“Without the help and expertise of the National Right to Work Foundation and my attorney Glenn Taubman, I would have been at a loss so many times in my efforts to educate myself and my coworkers.” – Sherwood speaking about the free legal aid he received from the National Right to Work Foundation

“The union has millions of dollars at their disposal to conduct a unionizing campaign. With the neutrality agreement in place, all I had was my determination, the support of my family and friends, and the backing of the National Right to Work Foundation, who kept my informed of my legal rights and defended me when those rights were violated.” ­­–Sherwood explaining how the Foundation’s expert legal staff helped to expose the hypocrisy of neutrality agreements

News Releases

• July 6, 2006: Nurses Hit Union and Medical Center With Federal Charges for Violating Their Freedom to Choose Whether to Unionize

Related News Articles

• April 4, 2005: "The unprofessional 'nurses' association," Orange County Register
• May 2, 2003: "California Nurses Assn. to Challenge 'Illegal' Tenet-SEIU Deal," Business Wire

Sherwood's Website Exposing the Pitfalls of Monopoly Bargaining

• www.stopunions.com

Additional Resources

• What is a "Neutrality Agreement" and how does it affect workers?
• National Right to Work Foundation's Spotlight on "Card Check" and "Neutrality Agreements"
• Brief of Amici Curiae National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and Sherwood Cox

In Washington State, Susan Wiggs, a teacher with a religious objection to paying union dues, fought tooth-and-nail against the Vancouver Education Association (VEA) over her right to divert those dues to charity. VEA union officials refused time and again to accommodate the teacher’s wishes.

Citizenlink.com has the story:

“[Union officials] absolutely don't want a precedent of religious objectors being able to choose their own charity," Wiggs said.

After the seemingly never-ending battle, a labor board ruled last week in favor of the teacher, but the VEA won’t give up and still refuses to approve Wiggs’ choice.

For more information on your rights as a religious objector, read the Foundation’s pamphlet entitled, “An Employee's Guide--To Union Dues and Religious Do Nots.” The guide describes how to obtain as accommodation of an employee's religious beliefs against joining or financially supporting a labor union.