UAW

Photos Show Nails in Employee's Driveway, Tobacco Juice on Windshield (Warning: Graphic)

Justin Hakes — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:36:24 -0400

Additional photos documenting earlier reported incidents of retaliation against employees of Volvo who kept working during a recent UAW union strike have surfaced.

Here, an employee finally gained the ability to press charges against a union operative for spitting tobacco juice all over her windshield after contacting the National Right to Work Foundation.

And here are just a couple of several hundred nails the very same employee found in her driveway before heading out to work one morning.

Photo Surfaces: Volvo Employee's Smashed Out Car Window...More to Come...

Justin Hakes — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:33:26 -0400

One Volvo employee's car windows were smashed out in the dead of night, even though he parked his car near his home under a spotlight because he feared retaliation for refusing to strike. Many such photos have surfaced, and we plan to have them online as soon as possible. The National Right to Work Foundation is continuing to act on behalf of employees during the fallout from this strike.

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Volvo Employee to Press Charges Against Picketer

Justin Hakes — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:37:41 -0400

Though it's pretty PG-rated compared to what else has gone on around the UAW strike in Virginia, a local employee called in to say that she has been allowed to press charges against a UAW picketer for spitting tobacco onto her car windshield and obstructing her view.

Late Night Phone Call "Congratulates" Worker

Justin Hakes — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:27:07 -0400

When the Volvo strike that we've covered heavily over the past week came to an end Saturday, one non-striking Volvo employee reports that she received an anonymous "congratulatory" phone call late that night.

When the employee answered the phone, the caller reported the tally of the vote to end the strike and reportedly said:

"Congratulations, you f***ing scab!"

It's because of such hostility that the National Right to Work Foundation again acted on behalf of employees in the area today, seeking information about employee reports that police refused to protect them from union vandalism and harassment.

Reported Reprisals Flooding In from Volvo Employees

Justin Hakes — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:43:10 -0400

In case you missed it yesterday, the National Right to Work Foundation is asking for an investigation into reports from employees that local police may have turned a blind eye to union harassment of non-striking workers at Volvo in Pulaski County, Virginia.

Meanwhile, employees continue to contact us with stories of what's been going on during the strike. Some employees report that in addtion to what has already been reported, they believe that union operatives have stalked them, collected their license plate numbers, and slashed their tires.

Again, employees seeking free legal aid can contact the Foundation toll-free at (800) 336-3600.

More on Volvo Strike: Coffin at Union Hall Reads "All Scabs Welcome Here"

Justin Hakes — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:52:22 -0400

(Photo by Larry Middleton)

More reports of alleged union inimidation of employees during a strike at Volvo near Roanoke, Virginia, are pouring out today, including a news story by WDBJ-TV. The video report also shows a makeshift coffin put up outside the union hall with an arrow pointing into it and reading "All Scabs Welcome Here."

The report also quotes several employees:

"I expected them to call me a scab. I expected that," says Volvo worker Dreama Domniguez. "What I didn't expect was some of the men that I sorta admired, thought they were descent people, to grope themselves as I drove by."

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Non-Striking Volvo Employees Find Nails in Driveways, "Scab" Signs in Front Yards, Broken Car Window

Justin Hakes — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:41:00 -0400

Think that union intimidation is a thing of the past? You might think again.

WSLS-TV out of Roanoke, Virginia, shows in a video report that nonunion Volvo employees in the Roanoke, Virginia, area claim they're being singled out for continuing to work during a United Auto Workers union-ordered strike.

Multiple reports of nails in employees' driveways, sugar in the gas tank of a car, "scab live here" signs in their yards, and a broken window of one of a worker's car have surfaced. One worker also reported being followed home after work.

While the local UAW union head says "I don't know if it did happen or didn't happen..." it's a disgrace if employees are being singled out simply for going to work.

Any employee wanting to know their rights should immediately contact the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation toll-free at 1-800-336-3600 or email legal@nrtw.org.

"Card Check" Deception Targets College Students

Justin Hakes — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:12:37 -0400

Speaking of "card check," a Washington State University student is calling out the United Auto Workers union on its recent use of a deceptive "card check" drive to forcibly unionize academic student employees. The student writes:

Several students were led to believe they were signing to get
information or support exploring the efficacy of students unionizing.
With a sense of urgency and high pressure tactics, many students filled
out cards.

In addition to noting that students would be forced to pay dues if the UAW was installed, the student adds:

We find it insulting to our intelligence and levels of educational
achievement to mislead, misrepresent and misinform us to gain student
support.

As Karen Mayhew, a National Right to Work Foundation-aided employee from Portland, Oregon, told Congress last year:

...union abuses of a wide variety are the rule in 'card check' campaigns, not the exception.

All the more reason that employees should be aware of their rights during a "card check" drive.

Kennedy Vows “Card Check” to Become Law of Land

John Powell — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:01:30 -0500

At a United Auto Workers (UAW) conference yesterday, Senator Teddy Kennedy (D-MA) – chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee – told attendees that he wouldn’t give up trying to push the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” down the throats of America’s workers.

The Daily Labor Report highlighted:

"We're going to bring it back again and again, until we prevail,” Kennedy said. “And I guarantee this: we get a Democrat in the White House and the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) will be the law of the land.”

Meanwhile, the National Institute for Labor Relations Research (NILRR) released a report today entitled “Card-Check Forced Unionism Would Hurt Employees and Employers” that details the economic devastation that would result from increased union monopoly power.

The detailed 13-page research report highlights how Big Labor’s number one legislative priority (you guessed it, EFCA) will exacerbate forced unionism and expand unions’ monopoly bargaining privileges over employees.

NILRR’s report points out some of the following about card check organizing and forced unionism:

“Card-check” organizing empowers union officials to force a business’s employees to accept a union as their monopoly-bargaining agent solely through the acquisition of signed union authorization cards.
Key provisions in the legislation would effectively ban employee secret-ballot elections over unionization in the private sector and replace such elections with so-called “card checks.”
Private sector job growth is nearly three times as fast in low union-monopoly states.

To read all the facts, download the full NILRR report on the card check forced unionism bill here.

More Foxwoods Dealers Allege UAW Harassment, Intimidation as Hearing Closes

John Powell — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:57:29 -0500

As we continue to follow the Foxwoods Casino and Resort story in Connecticut, the National Labor Relations Board has ended its trial over the validity of the unionization drive as of yesterday.

Center to Foxwood’s argument in the case is the harassment and intimidation tactics it says independent-minded employees endured by United Auto Workers (UAW) union organizers.

TheDay.com covers the story:

Diane Weaver said she was surrounded in an employee cafeteria by a group of 10 to 15 union supporters, who shouted at her. Weaver, a table game dealer for five years, testified that one person called her “stupid” and another threatened to beat her.

One dealer even testified against Bob Madore, the director of UAW Region 9A, after receiving these intimidating threats:

Debra Beebe, a dual-rate dealer for almost 15 years, said she attended a union meeting held the week before the election at the union hall in Norwich. At it, she said, “Bob” spoke and told those in the crowd the union would know who voted “no” in the election and that if those individuals filed grievances, there would be a way for the union to “retaliate.” Beebe testified that she heard Bob say that if someone who was anti-union filed a grievance, the person's paperwork would be shoved to the bottom of the stack.

Administrative Law Judge Raymond Green will issue a written decision on unionization at the casino in early March.

UAW

Photos Show Nails in Employee's Driveway, Tobacco Juice on Windshield (*Warning: Graphic*)