Worker Decertification and Deauthorization Drives

Union Officials Forced to Agree to New Decertification Election after Workers Complained of Union Intimidation

Will Collins — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:10:47 -0400

Banning, California (July 11, 2008) – In response to objections filed by workers represented by the National Right to Work Foundation alleging union misconduct during a recent decertification election at Coastline Manufacturing, International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades Local 636 union officials decided to save face rather than go through an embarrassing National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) hearing. Instead, they agreed to a new election to determine whether the union will retain its monopoly bargaining privileges.

After union officials unlawfully tampered with employees’ efforts to prove a majority didn’t want union representation, workers contacted the National Right to Work Foundation for free legal assistance. Employees at the glass manufacturing company then sought a union decertification election supervised by the NLRB to formally toss the International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades local out of their workplace.

Right to Work Attorneys Intervene to Stop NLRB General Counsel from Blocking Union’s Ejection from Narricot Industries

Patrick Semmens — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:44:06 -0400

Norfolk, Virginia (June 6, 2008) – With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, employees at fabric manufacturer Narricot Industries have filed a motion to defend their decision to throw the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners Union Local 2316 out of their workplace. After workers overwhelmingly supported decertification, union officials moved to block the employees’ wishes.

Prior to filing a decertification petition, only one quarter of employees in the collective bargaining unit were dues-paying members of the unpopular union, the majority having exercised their rights under Virginia’s Right to Work law to opt out of union dues. And 64 percent of employees signed a petition to remove the union as their collective bargaining agent.

KV Pharmaceutical Employees Vote To Oust Unwanted Teamsters Union from Workplace

John Powell — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:57:21 -0500

St. Louis, MO (January 23, 2008) – Overcoming months of union stonewalling, federal officials today announced KV Pharmaceutical Company (NYSE:KV-A) employees have voted 89-46 to remove an unpopular Teamsters union local from their workplace.

Teamsters Local 688 has been booted as the employees’ “exclusive bargaining representative” and may no longer act as a middleman between the employees and management. The employees received free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation in overcoming months of delays at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and legal challenges by Teamsters union lawyers who tried to stonewall the results of the vote.

Calbert Edwards and his KV Pharma coworkers obtained the secret ballot “decertification” vote after gaining signatures from an overwhelming majority of employees at the pharmaceutical giant. However, after the election was held in November, the NLRB Regional Director indefinitely impounded the ballots, leaving the employees without their election results.

Teamsters Local 688 lawyers had delayed the counting of ballots by filing “blocking charges” at the NLRB. They alleged that the company tried to entice the employees to vote against the Teamsters union by promising better benefits if the Teamsters union was voted out.

But, with help from attorneys at the National Right to Work Foundation, Edwards and his coworkers petitioned the NLRB to proceed. Consequently, in early January the NLRB Regional Director granted the request – dismissing the Teamsters union’s charges – and ordered the ballots counted. As a result of the employees’ decertification victory, KV Pharma workers will now be free to negotiate their own terms and conditions of employment, and be rewarded on their individual merit.

“Teamsters lawyers threw up every stumbling block possible over the past several months to block KV Pharma employees from exercising their free choice,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The hostility of the union hierarchy to workers’ interests shows why Missouri needs a Right to Work law that would make union affiliation and dues payment strictly voluntary.”

A decertification election, an NLRB-supervised secret ballot election to oust a union, is an uphill battle for workers to obtain or win. In particular, union lawyers are adept at gumming up the works by filing baseless charges that often block an election for years. Employees can also only obtain such elections during narrowly prescribed periods every few years, and incumbent union hierarchies often retaliate against dissenting employees.

Laidlaw Transit Busing Employees Vote to Kick Out A Union that Won’t Go Away

Webmaster — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Transit Union Slapped With Federal Labor Charges for Muscling Back into a Facility After Employees’ Revolt Forced it Out

Webmaster — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0400

National Right to Work Secures New Rights for Employees to Protect Against Abusive Union “Card Check” Organizing

Webmaster — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Federal Board to Prosecute Butte-Based Union for Illegal Threats and Dues Seizures at Local Safeway

Webmaster — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Over 300 Treasure Island Foods Employees Finally Allowed a Vote on Ousting Unpopular Union

Webmaster — Wed, 30 May 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Over 900 SFO Airport Security Screeners to Vote Whether to Eliminate Compulsory Union Dues from Workplace

Webmaster — Mon, 14 May 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Federal Labor Board to Prosecute UAW Union for Bullying Nurses Seeking to Vote Out Unwanted Union

Webmaster — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0500