Correcting the Record
National Right to Work Foundation Staff Attorney Glenn Taubman had a letter to the editor in the Washington Post over the weekend concerning whining about the recent Dana/Metaldyne victory. He wrote:
These cases were brought by workers to protect their right to freely choose or reject unionization. In both cases, employees were pressured to sign cards that were counted as "votes" for unionization. In both cases, the unions and the employers signed private deals apparently intended to result in unionization regardless of employee sentiment.
That said, it comes as no surprise that the NLRB majority in the case cited that the coercive "card check" union organizing scheme is "admittedly inferior" in protecting employee free choice.
PBS Documentary About the Right to Work Movement
The PBS documentary series "Voices of Vision" produced a feature on the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and Right to Work movement. View Part 1 of 3 below. You can view part two here, and three here. The video highlights first hand testimonials from the victims of compulsory unionism, American workers to which the Foundation provides free legal aid every day.
Pennsylvania Turned Its Back on Freedom
With no Right to Work law on the books, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a struggling, forced unionism state.
Ryan Mellinger is a young, full-time math teacher in a Pennsylvania public school district. He never joined the union which holds monopoly bargaining privileges over the district’s teachers, but he is still required to pay the $394 annually in forced dues, or lose his job.
And all Mellinger wants is to decide on his own how he could save or spend his $394 as he sees fit. FrontPage Magazine highlights:
“Pennsylvania is the state that gave birth to freedom and individual liberty, but it has turned its back on its heritage regarding compulsory union fees. Compulsory membership and fees affect not only teachers but thousands of workers throughout Pennsylvania in a variety of businesses that have union contracts. The results are an economic disaster.”
In order to highlight the impact of compulsory unionism in education in America today, the National Right to Work Foundation established a special project, Concerned Educators Against Forced Unionism (CEAFU). For over 30 years, CEAFU has helped to ensure that union officials respect the individual rights of independent educators.
Check out the CEAFU website here to see the negative impact of compulsory unionism on education.
Worker Advocate Praises U.S. Supreme Court Review of Ninth Circuit Ruling Endorsing Coercive Union Organizing
**Springfield, VA (November 20, 2007)** – Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, made the following statement in response to today’s granting of certiorari by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Foundation-supported Chamber v. Brown appeal.
An en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit had reversed two of its earlier appellate rulings by a vote of 8-3, upholding a state law that will effectively force coercive union organizing upon employees of private companies who receive state funds. Foundation attorneys filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court” brief) urging U.S. Supreme Court review.
“In a controversial decision with national implications, the activist Ninth Circuit in Chamber v. Brown upheld a California law which increases pressure on employees to join potentially unwanted unions.
“This special-interest state statute is pre-empted by federal labor law, which is supposed to protect employees from pressure to unionize by union officials and other entities. We’re thankful the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.
“The practical effect is that employees of private employers wishing to accept funds from the state are denied truthful information regarding the downsides of unionization. Their employers could ultimately be blackballed from government contracts unless they clear the path for union organizers to recruit new forced-dues-paying union members. Moreover, union organizers will insist that the state law entitles them to sweeping access to company facilities, employees’ private personal information, and the power to sidestep the less-abusive secret ballot election process for determining whether employees actually want a union.
“California officials are using the heavy hand of government to trample upon workers’ rights. Because union hierarchies seem to be having difficulties persuading employees to join unions voluntarily, they have resorted to coercive tactics in order to maintain the flow of forced union dues.
“The National Right to Work Foundation denounces this rogue appellate ruling and applauds the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to review it.”
When Union Militants Attack!
The threat of union violence continues to plague hard-working Americans across the country.
A story published in Alabama’s Times Daily highlights a rare instance where a judge actually issued a restraining order against a union. This recent incident involves North Alabama Building and Construction Trades Council and International Association of Machinists (IAM) union militants who targeted employees (and members of the Steelworkers union) who returned to work during a strike. At least one union militant dove onto a car entering the Wise Alloy worksite:
“…the employees attempted to return to their jobs Tuesday morning. Wise officials said Steelworkers union employees were being intimidated at the employee entrance to the plant by employees who are still on strike.”
“Wise officials also reported, however, that a former employee, who was demonstrating in the picket line, dived onto the hood of a vehicle that was entering the plant.”
Of course, it is common for union militants to ignore restraining orders in the rare instances they are issued.
If you or someone in your family has been a victim of union violence or intimidation, call the Foundation toll-free at 1-800-336-3600 or write to legal@nrtw.org and ask to speak with an attorney.
“Membership Building”=Compulsory Unionism
A Washington Post piece about yesterday’s NLRB protests by paid union professionals against recent NLRB decisions, including Right to Work’s Dana/Metaldyne victory for employees, characterizes the decision repeating the doublespeak often trotted out by union officials:
"One of the board’s decisions, issued Sept. 29, limits a key membership-building technique…"
Not to mention the fact that in the underlying cases 35% and 50% of employees respectively signed petitions for an election to toss out the unwanted United Auto Workers union as soon as it was recognized! Perhaps a "key involuntary membership building" scheme would be a more accurate characterization.
This article did not recognize that these challenges to abusive "card check" organizing were employee driven, and would’ve been well served to add this perspective.
And speaking of which, you can read more about Dana/Metaldyne in the cover story of the latest Foundaiton Action, available hot off the presses here.
More on the ILO
Syndicated columnist Doug Bandow has a piece out detailing efforts by the AFL-CIO brass to enlist the help of the United Nations affiliate International Labor Organization (ILO) in attaining more special privileges to corral workers into forced unionism.
Bandow cites that union officials are:
"…no longer are satisfied playing solely by U.S. rules."
How true. The column also addresses the controversy over the forced unionization of TSA screeners, an issue the National Right to Work Foundation has weighed in on during past years.
More Online Resources About Right to Work
Don’t forget that aside from bookmarking this page and checking back often that for the latest about Right to Work, you can also subscribe to our YouTube channel here. We will be building up our video archive substantially in the coming months.
Our bi-monthly newsletter, Foundation Action, is also available here and the next edition is due out in the next day or two. You can also sign up to receive print copies of the newsletter or to view archived editions online.
Philly Gets Rocky
National Right to Work attorneys’ recent victory for employee free choice at the NLRB was the topic of much debate at a meeting of the pro-forced unionism American Bar Association, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Union partisans typically condemned the newly established rights for employees. Once again, however, the meeting attendees did not get to hear from any representative from the National Right to Work Foundation, the group actually winning the main cases at issue and leading the charge to protect employees from "card check" organizing abuses.
Despite the hue and cry of union officials, the actions of the Bush NLRB to correct literally dozens of activist, pro-compulsory unionism rulings issued by the Clinton NLRB have been limited, delayed, and sparse. The Bush NLRB has a lot of work left to do and little time to do it.
