Over 100 Windstream North Carolina Employees Vote to Free Themselves of Unwanted CWA Union
Workers across 12 North Carolina locations officially free from CWA officials’ ‘representation’
North Carolina (March 18, 2026) – Employees of telecommunications provider Windstream North Carolina LLC have successfully voted Communications Workers of America (CWA) union officials out of power at their workplaces across North Carolina. Windstream worker Grant Diorio kicked off his coworkers’ effort to oust the union by filing a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in January, impacting his work unit of roughly 120 Windstream employees. Diorio filed the petition with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law, a task that includes holding votes to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Diorio’s petition contained more than enough signatures from his coworkers to trigger a decertification vote under NLRB rules. In February, the NLRB approved an agreement that set aside three days for in-person voting at several Windstream locations across the state.
The agreement noted that the vote would take place among “[a]ll employees employed by [Windstream] in its Plant, Commercial, or Traffic Department at its Matthews, Marshville, Wadesboro, Waxhaw, Rockwell, Denton, Mooresville, Tryon, Rural Hall, Monroe, and Aberdeen facilities.”
North Carolina is a Right to Work state, meaning state law forbids CWA bosses and other union officials from forcing workers to pay money to the union just to get or keep a job. Diorio and his coworkers enjoyed these protections, but even in Right to Work states, union officials have exclusive “representation” power, which permits them to impose one-size-fits-all contracts on every worker in a unionized workplace, even those who voted against or otherwise oppose the union.
“Even though my coworkers and I have a variety of jobs for Windstream across North Carolina, we agreed that CWA union bosses were not making our working lives any better,” commented Diorio. “I’m glad that, despite the challenges that come with petitioning for a decertification vote to take place at multiple places across the state, we were able to stand firm, secure our rights, and vote this CWA union out. We look forward to being independent!”
Workers Across Country Seeking Union Decertification, but Biden-Era Policies Stand in the Way
Foundation attorneys have noticed a marked increase in worker requests for help in decertifying unpopular unions. NLRB statistics indicate that in 2025 (the last year for which data is available), decertification petition filings are up almost 40% since 2020.
“Mr. Diorio and his colleagues’ situation is an excellent example of what happens when labor law actually works to protect American employees’ individual rights as opposed to frustrating those rights. We were proud to assist them,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Unfortunately, one only needs to look within the state of North Carolina to find an example of union bosses using biased doctrines within federal labor law to shore up their own power, even when it’s clear that workers want a chance to vote the union out. At The Quartz Corp. in Spruce Pine, United Mine Workers union officials have been manipulating unsubstantiated misconduct charges for months to block workers from having a union removal vote they validly requested.
“Luckily, Foundation attorneys are assisting Quartz Corp. employees and many other groups of independent-minded workers across the country in challenging unfair legal barriers to worker freedom,” Mix added. “The Trump NLRB should break from dysfunctional Biden-era policies and end the biased rules that have undermined workers’ explicit right under federal law to vote out unwanted unions.”
Labor Board to Prosecute UFCW Local 7 for Illegally Imposing Fines on King Soopers Workers Who Refused to Strike
UFCW Local 7 has long history of illegal fines and threats against nonmembers during union strikes against both King Soopers and Safeway
Denver, CO (March 13, 2026) – The federal labor board is prosecuting the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 union for unlawfully threatening workers with fines for not participating in UFCW union officials’ 2025 strike orders. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a complaint against the union after several employees of Colorado King Soopers and Safeway locations slammed the union with federal charges. These charges, filed with free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, challenged fines union bosses issued simply because employees chose to work.
The NLRB’s complaint responds specifically to unfair labor practice charges filed by Ryan Lamb and Lucas Martin, both of whom were employees of a Centennial, CO, King Soopers. Both Lamb and Martin maintained in their charges that they resigned their union memberships and returned to work during the 2025 strike ordered by UFCW bosses. Even though the union had no basis on which to discipline them because they were not union members, their charges stated, UFCW agents still assessed fines against them and demanded they appear at internal union “trials.”
The NLRB is the agency responsible for enforcing the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the federal law that governs labor relations in the private sector. The NLRA forbids unions from imposing internal union discipline on workers who are not members. However, the NLRA still permits union officials to extend their exclusive “representation” powers over every worker in a workplace, even those who have refrained from union membership and oppose the union’s agenda.
Colorado also lacks Right to Work protections for its workers. In the state, private sector employees can be forced to pay money to the union as a condition of getting or keeping a job. In contrast, in Right to Work states, like Colorado’s neighbors Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma, union membership and union financial support are strictly voluntary and the choice of each individual worker.
Supermarket Employees’ Charges Against UFCW Local 7 Piling Up
The NLRB’s complaint notes that UFCW Local 7 imposed fines on Martin and Lamb “even though the employees had previously tendered valid membership resignations to [the union] and were not members of [the union].” The complaint declares that such behavior “restrain[s] and coerc[es] employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Section 7 of the [NLRA].” The case will now go before an NLRB Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).
Foundation attorneys are currently representing eight employees of Colorado Safeway supermarkets who are charging UFCW Local 7 union officials with subjecting them to illegal fine threats in connection with 2025 strike actions. These cases are very similar to those Foundation attorneys took on for several workers in 2022, who faced impositions of sometimes thousands of dollars in fines from the same union hierarchy simply for continuing to do their jobs during a strike.
“UFCW Local 7 union officials continue to defy basic principles of federal labor law, and now they are facing a federal prosecution,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Foundation staff attorneys are proud to help Colorado grocery store workers defend themselves from coercive UFCW schemes, and this victory should signal to workers not only that UFCW bosses’ agenda often kneecaps workers’ rights, but also that workers have options to continue to work during a strike.”
National Right to Work Foundation Issues Legal Notice to Detroit-Area Corewell Nurses Subject to Teamsters Strike Order
Notice reminds nurses wishing to return to work that they must resign their union memberships to avoid potentially ruinous strike fines
Detroit, MI (March 6, 2026) – Today, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation issued a special legal notice for Detroit-area nurses subject to Teamsters Local 2024 union bosses’ potential strike order. The strike order is projected to cover roughly 10,000 nurses across nine different Corewell medical facilities.
The legal notice informs these workers of rights that union officials often do not want them to know. First and foremost, nurses have the right to resign their union memberships and keep working to support their families, thereby avoiding union fines and internal discipline.
“The situation presents serious concerns for nurses who believe there is much to lose from a union-ordered strike and may not want to abandon their patients,” the legal notice reads. “That is why employees confronted with strike demands frequently contact staff attorneys at the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation to learn how they can avoid fines for continuing to work during a strike to support themselves and their families.”
According to reports, one major sticking point during contract talks has been Teamsters officials’ demands that Corewell management impose a forced-dues clause (often misleadingly referred to as a “union security” clause) over the roughly 10,000 nurses in the work unit, and collect dues for the union. Such a clause would require Corewell to fire nurses who refuse to financially support the union. The Foundation’s notice also contains information about what rights nurses have to rebuff union officials’ forced-dues demands, if the contract ends up allowing them to make such demands.
The notice is available at: https://www.nrtw.org/corewell/.
Foundation: Resign Union Membership Before Returning to Work to Avoid Fines and Discipline
Most importantly, the notice informs nurses who want to keep working that the safest way to avoid strike fines and other punishment by union bosses is to resign their union memberships before returning to work. “If an employee is not a union member, union officials have no power to fine or otherwise discipline him or her,” the notice says. “Employees who are union members, or are unsure as to what they might have signed, have a legal right to resign their membership at any time.”
The Foundation’s special legal notice provides nurses sample union resignation letters, as well as information on how to exercise their right under the CWA v. Beck Supreme Court decision to opt out of paying dues for union politics, if union officials succeed in their push to impose a forced-dues contract. “Due to the recent repeal of Right to Work [in Michigan], Teamsters union officials may try to threaten that they can get workers fired for refusal to pay full union dues,” the notice reads. “This is false…workers even in non-Right to Work states can’t be forced to pay dues for anything unrelated to the union’s bargaining functions.”
The notice also gives workers information on the process to submit a “decertification petition,” in which employees request a workplace election to remove the union.
“Since Michigan legislators foolishly repealed the state’s Right to Work law, union officials across the state have engaged in increasingly aggressive tactics to control workers,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Teamsters union officials’ potential strike order against Corewell medical facilities is no exception, and many nurses may rightly think that an order taking thousands of nurses away from their jobs is a bad move for themselves, their families, their patients, and the Detroit community as a whole.
“Corewell nurses should know – regardless of what Teamsters officials may tell them – that they have the right to resign their union memberships and rebuff the union strike order, as well as the right to refrain from paying any dues to support the union’s political activities,” Mix added.
St. HOPE Charter School Teachers Win Effort to Remove Union Officials From Power
Having failed to stop decertification vote requested by majority of teachers, Sacramento City Teachers Association union bosses concede defeat and leave
Sacramento, CA (March 5, 2026) – Following an effort in which a majority of teachers demanded a vote to remove the union, charter school educators at St. HOPE Public Schools have successfully ousted Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA) union officials from the school system.
Rather than face a union decertification vote that a federal labor board had scheduled to take place on March 11, SCTA union bosses instead disclaimed interest in maintaining their exclusive representation powers over the St. HOPE educators. Now, over 50 teachers from PS7 Elementary School, PS7 Middle School, and Sacramento Charter High School are free of the unwanted union’s control.
St. HOPE teacher Beth Simonton led the removal effort, submitting a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in January requesting a vote to remove the union. The NLRB is the agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law, a task that includes administering votes to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Private organizations like St. HOPE, even if they operate public charter schools, are often subject to federal labor law as opposed to state labor laws.
Simonton’s petition, which she submitted in January with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, contained signatures from the majority of her colleagues – well over the threshold needed under federal law to trigger a union decertification vote. On February 25, NLRB Region 20 rejected arguments by the union and ordered a union decertification election to take place among the St. HOPE educators.
Then, only days before the scheduled election, SCTA union officials sent correspondence announcing that they were ending their monopoly bargaining control over the facility, likely in an attempt to avoid an embarrassing lopsided loss at the ballot box. St. HOPE teachers are now free of SCTA union bosses’ power to dictate their contract terms and work rules.
“I’m truly grateful that my colleagues and I were able to band together and send SCTA union officials on their way,” commented Simonton. “So much of their activity at St. HOPE involved pitting teachers against each other and finding ways to bend the rules so they could maintain their control. They did not represent the interest of the educators at St. HOPE, and we look forward to being independent from the union. We are FAMILY!”
NLRB Order: CA Charter Schools Aren’t Exempt From Federal Labor Law
As litigation over the scheduled vote went on, NLRB Region 20 notably rejected arguments from SCTA union lawyers that the St. HOPE system is a “political subdivision” subject to the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) and not the NLRB. Union officials prefer operating under the PERB, where rules are rigged against workers seeking decertification, effectively letting union legal tactics trap employees in union ranks for years even when a majority is on record as wanting the union removed.
In rejecting the union’s argument, NLRB officials turned to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Natural Gas Utility District of Hawkins County v. NLRB, under which an employer is a “political subdivision” only if it was directly created by the state, or if it is administered by individuals who are accountable to the public or public officials.
Applying this standard, NLRB Region 20 found that a private individual founded St. HOPE, and that public officials have little, if any, control over St. HOPE’s board of directors. For those reasons, the Regional Director ruled that “[St. HOPE] is an employer within the meaning of Section 2(2) of the [National Labor Relations Act] and is not exempt under the test set forth in Hawkins County.”
While SCTA union officials fled St. HOPE Public Schools before the NLRB-ordered vote could take place, NLRB Region 20’s ruling could be significant going forward for employees of other California charter schools who wish to decertify unions in their workplaces. Foundation attorneys have helped charter school employees in a number of other states in efforts at the NLRB to remove unwanted unions, including in Missouri and New York.
CA Charter School Teachers Have More Options to Escape Unions
“Ms. Simonton and her fellow St. HOPE educators should be commended for their success in breaking free from SCTA union officials,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “But their effort – which also included attempts years ago to vote SCTA out – exposes how focused California labor law is on solidifying union boss power, even in the face of clear evidence that workers want a union gone.
“Bureaucrats on the California PERB blocked the St. HOPE teachers from ousting the union for years on end, simply because SCTA union bosses filed unsubstantiated charges of employer misconduct,” Mix added. “These charades forced Simonton and her coworkers to resort to an entirely different agency in the hopes of finally making their voices heard.
“No workers should have to face challenges like this simply to vote a union out,” Mix continued. “But, following St. HOPE educators’ success, charter school educators across the Golden State should know they have more options for seeking a union decertification election, and should not hesitate in contacting Foundation attorneys if they want to exercise this important right.”
National Labor Relations Board Schedules Vote for St. HOPE Charter School Teachers Seeking to Remove SCTA Union
Despite union’s legal attempt to block vote, NLRB schedules election for March 11 in response to majority-backed petition from teachers to decertify union
Sacramento, CA (March 2, 2026) – In response to a petition from the majority of St. HOPE Public Schools educators requesting such a vote, a federal labor board has ordered an election to remove Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA) union officials from the school system to take place on Wednesday, March 11. The vote will take place among over 50 teachers from PS7 Elementary School, PS7 Middle School, and Sacramento Charter High School.
In January, St. HOPE educator Beth Simonton submitted a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), asking the federal agency to administer a vote to end SCTA union bosses’ exclusive representation powers over her and her colleagues. The NLRB is the agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law, a task that includes administering votes to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Private organizations like St. HOPE that operate public charter schools are generally subject to federal labor law.
Simonton’s petition, which she submitted with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, contained signatures from the majority of her colleagues – well over the threshold needed under federal law to trigger a union decertification vote. Following a hearing conducted January 26-28, NLRB Region 20 issued an order on February 25 ordering an election to be held.
“SCTA union officials have been extremely divisive and have not had a positive impact on teachers, students, or the St. HOPE community as a whole,” commented Simonton. “They’ve spent much more time trying to demonize school leadership than simply standing up for our interests. I’m proud to represent the majority of educators at St. HOPE who are standing up and saying ‘enough is enough.’”
NLRB Rejects Union Argument That St. HOPE is Exempt From Federal Labor Law
NLRB Region 20’s election order notably rejected arguments from SCTA union lawyers that the St. HOPE system is actually a “political subdivision” under the jurisdiction of California’s Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) and not subject to the NLRB. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Natural Gas Utility District of Hawkins County v. NLRB that an employer qualifies as such a “political subdivision” only if it was directly created by the state, or if it is administered by individuals who are accountable to the public or public officials.
The election order points out that a private individual founded St. HOPE and that public officials have little, if any, control over St. HOPE’s board of directors. “I find that [St. HOPE] is an employer within the meaning of Section 2(2) of the [National Labor Relations Act] and is not exempt under the test set forth in Hawkins County,” the NLRB Regional Director’s decision reads. “Accordingly, I am directing an election among the employees in the agreed upon appropriate unit.”
The Foundation has aided numerous charter school employees over the years in opposing unwanted union hierarchies. Elsewhere in California, charter school teachers at Gompers Preparatory Academy in San Diego sought Foundation aid in obtaining a vote to remove San Diego Education Association (SDEA) union officials from the school. After two such efforts to remove the union (one in 2019 and another in 2023) and much litigation over SDEA union bosses’ delay tactics, the educators finally voted the SDEA out in 2023.
“We at the Foundation are proud to assist St. HOPE educators in finally getting a chance to exercise their right to vote SCTA union officials out of power at their schools,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “But it’s ridiculous that it took a herculean effort and several years for St. HOPE teachers just to get to this point. Biased bureaucrats at the California PERB blocked them from having a union removal vote for several years based on dubious allegations of employer misconduct – and St. HOPE educators are hardly the only workers in California that PERB has subjected to such stonewalling.
“We hope that Ms. Simonton’s effort is not only the first step in St. HOPE educators freeing themselves from SCTA union chiefs, but also the first step toward freeing California educators from the oppressive California labor bureaucracy,” Mix added.
Cannabis Workers Send UFCW Union Packing at Holistic Industries Monson Facility
Majority of workers at plant requested vote to remove union, UFCW bosses fled facility after attempts to block the vote failed
Springfield, MA (February 25, 2026) – Packaging associates and delivery drivers at cannabis company Holistic Industries’ Monson plant have successfully removed United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union officials from their workplace. The victory comes after a majority of Holistic employees backed a petition asking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to administer a vote to remove the UFCW union from the facility (also known as a union “decertification” vote).
Scott Browne, a Holistic packaging associate, submitted the petition with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys. The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law, a task that includes holding votes to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions.
Rather than face a potentially lopsided loss at the ballot box, UFCW union officials instead submitted correspondence February 20 disclaiming interest in continuing their exclusive “representation” powers over the Holistic Industries workers.
Because Massachusetts lacks Right to Work protections for its private sector workers, UFCW officials were empowered to require Browne and his colleagues to pay union dues or fees as a condition of getting or keeping a job. In contrast, in Right to Work states, union membership and all union financial support are strictly voluntary and the choice of each individual worker.
However, in both Right to Work and non-Right to Work states, union bosses’ government-granted exclusive representation powers let them control the working conditions of all workers in a unionized workplace, even those who voted against or otherwise oppose the union. Browne and his colleagues are now free from UFCW bosses’ forced-dues demands and exclusive representation powers.
UFCW Union Officials Filed Specious Charges to Block Ouster Vote
Browne’s petition, which he submitted in June 2025, contained employee signatures well in excess of the necessary threshold to trigger the decertification election, but UFCW union officials filed so-called “blocking charges” with the NLRB in July 2025 in an attempt to block the vote and cling to power.
Regional NLRB officials blocked the vote for months at union bosses’ behest. Foundation attorneys filed a Request for Review with the NLRB in Washington, DC, arguing that the NLRB’s current policy surrounding blocking charges allows unsubstantiated and unrelated claims of employer interference – like those in the charges UFCW chiefs filed – to block workers’ right to vote on a union. The filing requested that the blocking charge policy be overturned.
“The blocking charge policy allows the Board to arbitrarily refuse to process an election, which undermines employees’ statutory rights and free choice,” Browne’s Request for Review read.
However, after litigation between Holistic Industries management and UFCW officials over the blocking charges wrapped up this month, UFCW union bosses disclaimed interest in Browne’s unit, likely aware that they would not win the decertification election.
“We at the Foundation are proud to have helped Mr. Browne and his colleagues escape the monopoly power of UFCW union officials,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “But there’s no reason that UFCW bosses should have been able to delay this result for the better part of a year.”
“The current NLRB’s ‘blocking charge’ rules, created during the Biden-era NLRB, allow union officials to use unsubstantiated and unrelated claims of so-called unfair labor practices to trap workers in union ranks,” added Mix. “Trump’s new appointees to the NLRB must work swiftly to reform the agency’s standards to better protect the rights of workers to remove unions as they wish.”
UAW Faces Prosecution For Illegal Firing of Worker Who Objected to Funding Union Boss Political Activities
Without Right to Work to ensure dues payments are voluntary, Michigan employees are having to take legal action to defend their legal rights against Big Labor
Grand Rapids, MI (February 19, 2026) – A recent legal action by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys on behalf of a Grand Rapids-based General Electric (GE) Aviation worker demonstrates United Auto Workers (UAW) union bosses’ greed for dues money and disregard for workers’ individual rights in the Great Lakes State.
Richard Howard, a GE Aviation Systems employee, recently scored a victory in his Foundation-backed case challenging UAW Local 330 officials’ demands that he be terminated for declining to join the union and pay full union dues by direct paycheck deduction. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law, has just issued a complaint against the UAW and GE Aviation to formally prosecute them for their behavior.
According to unfair labor practice charges Howard filed at the NLRB, GE management fired Howard at UAW chiefs’ behest when he refused to sign a UAW membership and dues “checkoff” form that would have given UAW bosses direct access to his paycheck. Howard’s charges noted that UAW officials also violated his rights under the Foundation-won CWA v. Beck Supreme Court decision. Under Beck, union officials cannot force workers who have opted out of union membership to pay dues for the union’s “nonchargeable” expenses, which include political and ideological activities.
Michigan legislators repealed the state’s popular Right to Work protections in a party-line vote in 2023. Michigan’s Right to Work law prevented union bosses from enforcing contracts that require workers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of keeping their jobs. After the repeal, union officials can force the firing of workers for refusal to pay money to the union, although this union privilege is somewhat limited by Beck. In addition, federal law forbids forcing workers to authorize the deduction of union dues directly from their paychecks.
Howard’s charges alleged that union officials never informed him of or granted him his Beck rights, even after he had specifically objected to paying dues for politics and other nonchargeable expenses on several grounds. The UAW’s unlawful demands came immediately after the repeal of Michigan’s Right to Work law took effect.
Grand Rapids UAW Bosses Face Prosecution For Getting GE Aviation Worker Fired
At the end of January, the NLRB issued a complaint prosecuting UAW bosses for making these illegal demands, and for forcing GE management to terminate Howard’s employment. The complaint, which will soon go before an NLRB Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), asks that the ALJ order UAW Local 330 to “make [Howard] whole for any loss of earnings and other benefits suffered as the result of his discharge” and return any dues taken from his paycheck illegally for nonchargeable expenses, among other forms of relief. The complaint also prosecutes GE Aviation Systems for its role in Howard’s illegal firing.
“Mr. Howard’s case is Exhibit 1 for why workers need more – not less – protection from union boss coercion,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “UAW officials apparently view Michigan’s lack of Right to Work as a license to make any demands they want of workers – including unlawful demands to fund the UAW’s radical politics. The bottom line is that Michigan workers deserve protection from being forced to subsidize unwanted union bosses, whether they oppose them for political reasons, corruption-related reasons, or any other reason. Michigan’s Right to Work law provided that protection, and the decision to repeal it was a sop to union special interests, plain and simple.
“Workers like Rick Howard are now paying the price,” Mix added.
Cornell Ph.D. Student’s Appeal to NLRB’s Top Prosecutor Urges Agency to End Union Control Over Graduate Students
Case attacks Obama-era federal ruling that exposed graduate students to union boss power and forced dues
Ithaca, NY (February 18, 2026) – Russell Burgett, a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University, is asking newly-seated National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Crystal Carey to issue a complaint and ask the NLRB to free graduate students across the country from being forced to fund and associate with union bosses.
Burgett filed an Appeal to the General Counsel on February 10, with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys. In his filing, Burgett presses the General Counsel to have the NLRB reconsider the disastrous 2016 Columbia University decision, a controversial Obama-era ruling that classified graduate students as “employees” subject to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Under Columbia University, union bosses are permitted to gain one-size-fits-all exclusive “representation” powers over graduate students at private universities.
“A graduate student’s primary relationship with his or her school is as a customer of that school’s educational instruction and services, not as a statutory employee,” reads Burgett’s Appeal. “[U]niversities forcing graduate students to pay union dues to act as teaching and research assistants interferes with their ability to complete their course of studies and earn their degrees. Here, the [union contract] effectively makes financially supporting [the union] a condition of receiving a Cornell graduate degree.”
Burgett, who is not a member of the Cornell Graduate Student Union (CGSU-UE, an affiliate of United Electrical), opposes the radical ideology and agitation of CGSU agents on campus. Because New York, where Cornell is located, is not a Right to Work state, CGSU bosses can legally force students (mischaracterized as “employees”) to pay money to the union to complete their graduate programs.
Adding insult to injury, CGSU union officials rejected Burgett’s request to opt-out of paying the portion of dues that goes toward the union’s politics, which is a right guaranteed to workers under the Foundation-won CWA v. Beck Supreme Court decision. CGSU union bosses speciously claimed that Beck objections could only be submitted during a narrow, union-concocted “window period” of 30 days per year.
NLRB Must Reexamine Union Powers Over Students, Including Forced-Dues Mandates
Burgett’s Appeal asks the NLRB General Counsel to prosecute CGSU union officials and Cornell management on the grounds that the union contract is blocking the university from doing business with students who abstain from union membership or union financial support. Union agreements that require an entity to cease doing business with those who refuse union association blatantly violate the NLRA.
The Appeal’s argument hinges on the Board reaffirming that students have a “business and academic” relationship with their universities and are not “employees” was wrongly held in Columbia University.
In addition to his primary argument, Burgett’s Appeal contends that the NLRB should prosecute CGSU union officials for arbitrarily limiting when students can exercise their Beck right to opt out of funding union politics.
“It is unconscionable that current NLRB case law allows union officials, like those from CGSU-UE, to upend the academic careers of students who refuse to associate with them,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Union bosses’ one-size-fits-all bargaining schemes have no place in the world of academia, where freedom of thought and association should be paramount.
“We’re proud to stand behind Mr. Burgett, and urge the Board to affirm the commonsense idea that graduate students are students and were never intended to be subjected to the NLRB’s forced unionism regime,” Mix added.
Counselor at IL Correctional Facility Slams Union With Federal Charges For Illegally Seizing Money From Paycheck
AFSCME union officials told worker that formal membership and full dues payments are required just to keep her job
East Saint Louis, IL (February 11, 2026) – A mental health professional employed by University Correctional Healthcare Solutions has just filed a federal charge against the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 union, maintaining that union officials are forcing her to join the union and pay full union dues – including dues for union politics.
The employee, J. Denise Bradley, is pursuing her case at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys. The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law. Ms. Bradley works primarily at the Illinois Youth Center Pere Marquette in Grafton, IL.
Even though federal labor law permits union bosses in many states to force workers to pay money to a union to keep their jobs, the Supreme Court’s decision in NLRB v. General Motors forbids mandatory formal union membership. Additionally, the Foundation-won CWA v. Beck Supreme Court decision prohibits union officials from requiring workers who opt out of union membership to pay dues for the union’s “nonchargeable” expenses, which include political and ideological actions.
Illinois lacks Right to Work protections for its private sector workers, meaning union officials can enforce union contracts that require workers to pay money to the union or else be fired. However, this legal privilege is limited by Beck. In contrast, in Right to Work states like Illinois’ neighbors Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, and Kentucky, all union financial support is voluntary and the choice of each individual worker.
“My colleagues and I are very proud of the services we provide, as challenging as our jobs are. The last thing I need is AFSCME union officials threatening my livelihood because I refuse to support their regime inside the workplace and their political agenda outside the workplace,” commented Bradley. “No worker in any profession deserves to be bullied into funding a union they oppose, especially if they feel that the union isn’t doing anything to improve their work.”
Council 31 is notably the same AFSCME affiliate that Foundation attorneys faced in the 2018 Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court decision. In Janus, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling establishing that public sector employees have a First Amendment right to refrain from paying dues to union officials. While Bradley works for a private contractor and is not under the purview of Janus, federal law still protects her from being forced to pay full dues or authorize automatic deduction of union dues for AFSCME Council 31.
AFSCME Union Officials Ignore Supreme Court Precedent, Use Unlawful Dues Forms
According to Bradley’s charge, AFSCME union officials told her and her coworkers that “it was a condition of employment to: (1) be a member of the Union; (2) pay full Union dues and/or (3) sign the Union’s unlawful dual-purpose membership and dues deduction authorization form.” Federal law prohibits the use of “dual-purpose” union membership forms, which confusingly demand that workers assent to both membership and direct paycheck deduction of union dues with only one signature.
In late 2025, Bradley attempted to exercise her right to refrain from union membership and her right to pay a reduced amount of union dues as per Beck. AFSCME union officials sent correspondence to Bradley rejecting her attempts to exercise her right under federal law to refrain from membership. Those communications also stated “the Union [does] not permit employees to pay a reduced fee.”
“Solely to preserve her employment, [Bradley] involuntarily signed the Union’s unlawful dual-purpose membership and dues deduction authorization form ‘under protest,’” the charges read. Bradley’s charges finally report that the union has never made any attempt to respect her rights under Beck and that full union dues are now flowing from her paycheck to AFSCME Council 31.
“AFSCME Council 31 union officials are just as intent on attacking workers’ free association rights as they were when Janus was being litigated,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Instead of trying to win the support of Ms. Bradley and her coworkers voluntarily, they are ignoring federal laws to fund union political and ideological activities.
“Unions that disrespect employees like this don’t deserve a cent of employees’ hard-earned pay, which is why all American workers deserve the Right to Work freedom to choose for themselves whether or not to fund a union,” Mix added.
Foodservice Workers at Two High Schools Win Campaign to Remove SEIU Union Bosses
After vast majority of cafeteria workers requested vote to ‘decertify’ union, union bosses disclaimed interest rather than face a vote
Chicago, IL (February 4, 2026) – Foodservice employees who serve Lyons Township High School North and Lyons Township High School South have successfully removed Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73 officials from power at their workplaces.
The victory comes after Quest Food Management Services employee Lisa Latelle filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) a petition backed by the majority of her coworkers seeking such a vote. Latelle spearheaded the union removal effort with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law, a task which includes administering votes to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Nearly everyone in Latelle’s unit backed the petition seeking a union decertification vote. Latelle’s work unit includes all Quest Food Management employees at both high schools, including “Cooks, Assistant Cooks, Food Service Workers, Utility and Caterers.”
According to NLRB Region 13’s Decision and Direction of Election, the decertification election would have taken place near the end of January in the staff cafeterias of both Lyons Township High School North and Lyons Township High School South. However, ahead of the election, SEIU union officials disclaimed interest in maintaining control over the work unit, likely fearing a lopsided vote result against the union.
Because Illinois lacks Right to Work protections for its private sector workers, SEIU union officials had the power to force Latelle and her coworkers to pay union fees to keep their jobs. In Right to Work states like neighboring Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, and Iowa, union financial support and union membership are the voluntary choice of each individual worker. With SEIU officials gone, Quest Food Management Services employees are free of both the union’s forced-dues demands and the union’s monopoly bargaining control over their contracts.
“SEIU union officials did not represent our interests in the workplace, yet money was constantly coming out of our paychecks to support their activities,” Latelle commented. “The vast majority of my coworkers had had enough of that, and we’re glad we could band together to free ourselves of the SEIU’s control.”
“It is wrong to force any worker under union bosses’ so-called ‘representation’ against their will,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Yet in Illinois, workers are not only forced under union monopolies, but can be required to fund union activities or else be fired.
“We are proud to have helped the cafeteria workers at Lyons Township schools exercise their right to eject the SEIU and escape both forced dues and forced ‘representation,’” added Mix. “We look forward to the day when every individual employee in Illinois has the right to decide for themselves whether or not to join or financially support a labor union.”
