Charge: UFCW bosses ignored Village Market employee for four years, then suddenly had him fired claiming he owed over $3,500 in back dues and fees

Oakland, CA (September 28, 2026) – With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation, an 86-year-old veteran who worked part-time at Village Market in Oakland has filed federal charges at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 (UFCW) union. The charge says UFCW 5 union officials illegally had Phil Holland fired in early September claiming he owed thousands of dollars in back dues and fees.

Holland, a Navy veteran with 30 years’ of experience in law enforcement, who also works part-time as a YMCA fitness instructor, was hired by the Village Market grocery store that he shopped at for 30 years in February of 2022 after he noticed a “help wanted” sign in the window. During his first four years of employment, UFCW Local 5 union officials never contacted him, never asked him to pay union dues or fees, and never notified him of his legal rights under the 1988 Foundation-won CWA v. Beck Supreme Court decision, which protects employees from being required to pay full union dues for activities unrelated to union bargaining like union-boss political activism.

This suddenly changed in May 2026 when UFCW Local 5 union officials began sending threatening messages “welcoming” him to the union and later demanding that he become a member or lose his job.

Shortly after in July, UFCW Local 5 union bosses sent the part-time employee who worked 12 hours a week a letter demanding that he pay over $3,500 in retroactive dues and fees under the threat of termination. The union communication lacked the required information to inform him of his legal rights under the Beck decision.

Union Officials Rejected Proposed Partial Payment, Had Retired Veteran Terminated

With Holland not willing to pay the sudden and unlawful $3,500 dues demand, he proposed paying the Beck fee going forward and a partial payment of the back amount. UFCW officials not only rejected his request but also demanded that Village Market terminate his employment, which the company effectively did.

Because California lacks Right to Work protections for its private sector workers, UFCW union officials can require workers to pay money to the union or lose their jobs. However, the Supreme Court’s NLRB v. General Motors decision forbids mandatory formal union membership.

The charge asks the NLRB to prosecute UFCW 5 for Holland’s illegal termination and also hold that the union committed an unfair labor practice when union officials knowingly ignored his employment for years without attempting to collect dues, then suddenly sprung a multi-year dues demand on the part-time employee. Mr. Holland’s charges will now be investigated by NLRB Region 32 officials.

“UFCW 5 union officials ignored Mr. Holland for more than four years while he worked part-time at his local grocery store, then out of nowhere ambushed the 86-year-old veteran with a bill for thousands of dollars and illegally had him fired when he didn’t give into their unlawful demands,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “The abusive tactics on display in this case show the need for additional protections for employees against union boss attempts to collect years of back dues after the union itself failed to legally request the money at the time.

“Ultimately though, cases like this demonstrate why every worker in America deserves Right to Work protections to ensure that all union payments are strictly voluntary,” added Mix.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.