Albion, Nebraska (October 1, 2009) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a local worker has filed unfair labor practice charges against the Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 7476 union for blocking his attempt to stop paying union dues after resigning from union membership.

James Getzfred, an employee of Source Gas, resigned from the union and attempted to revoke authorization for union dues deduction on September 9, 2009. Instead of complying with his request, CWA bosses told Getzfred that he’d have to wait for a union-designated “window period” before he could opt out of union dues.

Nebraska is a Right to Work state, which means workers cannot be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment. Prior Supreme Court precedents have also established that employees have the right to resign from union membership at any time. However, CWA bosses now argue that an obscure legal technicality prevents workers who have resigned from union membership from ending dues payments until they explicitly opt-out during a union-prescribed window period.

Under federal law, this window period requirement can only be enforced if an employee explicitly agrees to it when he or she first authorizes the payroll deduction of union dues. So far, CWA bosses have been unable to produce Getzfred’s original authorization to demonstrate that he agreed to the CWA’s window period.

Moreover, the CWA local’s current dues authorization form includes no language that obligates union members to adhere to a window period if they resign from union membership and wish to stop paying union dues.

Getzfred’s charges seek an immediate end to further forced dues collection and a retroactive reimbursement of union dues from the date of his resignation. The charges also demand that CWA officials notify all Source Gas employees of their right to resign from union membership and stop paying union dues at any time.

“CWA union bosses seem more interested in exploiting rank-and-file workers and extracting union dues than respecting their rights,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “James Getzfred wants nothing to do with this union, but these union bosses are thumbing their noses at Nebraska’s popular, job-creating Right to Work law with the hope of preventing other workers from exercising their rights as well.”

Louisville, Kentucky (September 23, 2009) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, several Jefferson County educators have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against local and national teacher unions for a series of schemes designed to force unwilling educators into full-dues paying union membership.

The lawsuit alleges that union officials routinely blocked membership resignations for years at a time, automatically enrolled new teachers in the union without their consent, and used a collective bargaining scheme to force county teachers to pay union dues.

The teachers’ lawsuit, filed against the Jefferson County Teachers Association (JCTA) union and its national affiliate, the National Education Association (NEA), in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, seeks the return of illegally seized dues, a modification of the union’s contract to allow employees to resign from union membership at any time, and a regular notice from the union that informs public school employees of their right to refrain from membership.

The NEA is also named in the teachers’ suit because it encouraged JCTA officials to continue to block resignation attempts despite the concerns of local educators. Foundation attorneys believe that this lawsuit has the potential to deter similar NEA practices across the country by setting a favorable precedent under the First Amendment guaranteeing the right of teachers to resign from union membership at any time.

Currently, teachers employed in Jefferson County are automatically enrolled as union members and forced to pay union dues unless they explicitly register an objection to JCTA union officials. Moreover, teachers are only permitted to resign from formal union membership during a ten day-window period after an individual teacher’s contract is signed or after the union hierarchy agrees to a new contract with the local school board. If a teacher fails to register an objection to union membership within either period, he or she is forced to remain a union member until the expiration of the union’s five-year contract with the local school board. Many teachers report that JCTA officials never informed them of their right to refrain from joining the union in the first place.

Foundation attorneys believe that any collective bargaining agreement that forces educators to pay union dues to keep their jobs is illegal under state law. Moreover, the Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent Abood v. Detroit Board of Education ensures that teachers and other public employees have the right to resign from union membership. Retaliation or discrimination against employees for deciding against belonging to a union is also illegal.

“The JCTA’s illegal policy has allowed union officials to hold teachers hostage for far too long,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “While we’re confident that the Foundation’s lawsuit will be successful, the best way to prevent future abuse of this nature is for Kentucky to adopt a Right to Work law. Doing so would make union membership and dues-payment strictly voluntary.”

Warwick, RI (September 23, 2009) – With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation, a Kent Hospital nurse has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against a local nursing union for illegally attempting to coerce her and other employees into formal, full-dues paying membership.

The charges come just as the nurses are seeking an election to strip the United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP) Local 5008 union hierarchy of all power to compel dues payments as a job condition.

In the 22 states with Right to Work protections, employees cannot be forced to pay any union dues. The U.S. Supreme Court held in the Foundation-won Communication Workers of America v. Beck (1988) that union officials in states like Rhode Island, which do not have Right to Work laws, can lawfully compel nonmembers to pay union dues as a job condition, but not the part of dues spent for activities like political activism, lobbying, and member-only events. Union officials must also provide nonmembers with an independently audited breakdown of union expenditures, and nonmembers may challenge the calculation of the reduced fees.

Local 5008 recently disseminated a “Fact Sheet on Union Dues” to Jeanette Geary and other nurses at Kent Hospital. In the document, union officials told the employees that if they wish to exercise their right to refrain from union membership, they will pay only one dollar less per pay period than union members. But union officials never provided the nurses with the required independent audit of union expenditures necessary to determine whether they are being forced to pay more than allowed under law.

Foundation attorneys argue that Local 5008 union bosses have also implemented an illegal policy designed to force employees into “choosing” automatic deduction of monthly dues over the burdensome alternative of two lump sums paid semi-annually. Union officials have also informed the nurses that dues will be deducted automatically, even if they never authorized the deduction.

The National Labor Relations Board regional director in Boston will now investigate the charges and determine whether to prosecute Local 5008 before an administrative law judge. Geary is also spearheading a campaign to collect signatures from her fellow nurses to conduct a deauthorization election, which would remove the forced-dues clause from the contract.

“Sadly, skirting financial disclosure requirements and trying to coerce nurses like Jeanette Geary into union membership has become standard operating procedure for these union officials,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation.

Philadelphia, PA (September 22, 2009) – Today, National Right to Work Foundation attorneys filed unfair labor practice charges for Kimberly Hummel, a Philadelphia nurse who has been subpoenaed to testify at a private arbitration hearing for daring to oppose a backroom deal between Hahnemann University Hospital and the California Nurses Association (CNA) union.

In June 2009, the CNA union decisively lost a so-called “consent election” to determine if Hahnemann employees would be forced to accept union monopoly bargaining. Despite a coercive deal between union bosses and hospital officials that gave CNA organizers preferential access to hospital facilities, circumvented federal oversight, and prevented nurses from discussing the downsides of unionization, Hahnemann University Hospital employees voted against the CNA, 309 to 267.

Unwilling to take “no” for an answer, CNA operatives responded by filing a series of objections to the election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging that the unionization drive was somehow tainted by hospital officials’ actions, despite the fact that the hospital’s management provided assistance to union organizers. The CNA union filed similar objections with a private arbitrator, who promptly subpoenaed Hummel, a leading opponent of the CNA’s abusive organizing tactics, threatening her with a monetary fine if she refused to participate. NLRB officials have already set a date for a hearing on these objections, however.

Because Hummel never agreed to submit to private arbitration, her unfair labor practice charges assert that she is under no obligation to answer questions at the private arbitration hearing, where union operatives would have free-reign to harass and interrogate her prior to the upcoming NLRB investigation. Absent federal safeguards, a private arbitration hearing also threatens to undermine Hummel’s due process rights. As a result, Hummel has refused to appear before the CNA’s tribunal and has filed unfair labor practice charges against the union for threatening her with a subpoena.

“With the help of complicit hospital administrators, CNA operatives have already tried to forced Hahnemann nurses into the dues-paying ranks of an unwanted union,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Now that they’ve been rebuffed by Philadelphia nurses, union bosses are attempting to drag Kimberly Hummel into a union kangaroo court for interrogation.”

“The union’s objections are already being investigated by the NLRB, so employees like Mrs. Hummel will absolutely not attend a private arbitration hearing that lacks basic due process safeguards,” continued Gleason. “Instead of pursuing this ludicrous hearing, union officials should respect the wishes of these nurses to remain union-free and go away.”

Employees File Federal Class Action Suit to Halt Abusive Mandatory Union Dues Scheme

Right to Work Foundation helps employees challenge national union’s illegal “annual objection” policy

Aberdeen, MD (September 21, 2009) – Today, two employees filed a class action federal suit challenging the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers (IAM) union’s nationwide policy requiring employees to object year after year to paying union dues they cannot be lawfully forced to pay.

With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation, Jacobs Technology Incorporated employees Rick Gorham and Robert Negosta are challenging the IAM union officials’ scheme intended to thwart non-union members’ legal rights to refrain from paying union dues for union electioneering and other non-bargaining activities. Foundation attorneys filed the complaint in Maryland’s U.S. District Court on behalf of the two employees and all of Jacobs Technology’s other similarly-situated employees.

In the Foundation-won Communication Workers of America v. Beck (1988), the U.S. Supreme Court held that union officials can lawfully compel nonmembers to pay union dues as a job condition, but not the part of dues spent for non-bargaining activities like political activism, lobbying, and member-only events. However, these limited rights have been difficult to enforce, as union officials often concoct illegal schemes such as these “annual objection” policies to burden or thwart employees from exercising their rights.

(Continue reading this news release…)

Aberdeen, Maryland (September 21, 2009) – Today, two employees filed a class action federal suit challenging the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers (IAM) union’s nationwide policy requiring employees to object year after year to paying union dues they cannot be lawfully forced to pay.

With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation, Jacobs Technology Incorporated employees Rick Gorham and Robert Negosta are challenging the IAM union officials’ scheme intended to thwart non-union members’ legal rights to refrain from paying union dues for union electioneering and other non-bargaining activities. Foundation attorneys filed the complaint in Maryland’s U.S. District Court on behalf of the two employees and all of Jacobs Technology’s other similarly-situated employees.

In the Foundation-won Communication Workers of America v. Beck (1988), the U.S. Supreme Court held that union officials can lawfully compel nonmembers to pay union dues as a job condition, but not the part of dues spent for non-bargaining activities like political activism, lobbying, and member-only events. However, these limited rights have been difficult to enforce, as union officials often concoct illegal schemes such as these “annual objection” policies to burden or thwart employees from exercising their rights.

While the IAM union hierarchy’s annual objection policy should not apply to employees who have refrained from IAM union membership, IAM union officials still illegally require nonmember employees nationwide to file formal objections every year. Additionally, IAM union bosses regularly change the dates for the annual thirty-day window period ostensibly to create additional confusion.

Foundation attorneys won a similar case challenging the IAM’s annual objection policy under the Railway Labor Act in a U.S. District Court in Virginia. The court forced the union to abandon the policy, but the union lawyers are trying to keep the policy in force in all workplaces not governed by that statute. Foundation attorneys are now challenging the policy that applies to employees covered by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

“These workers are taking a courageous stand against funding the Machinist union bosses’ radical political agenda and fat-cat lifestyles,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “No worker should be compelled to hand over their hard earned dollars so that IAM union bosses can play politics or take vacations with the union’s $2 million private jet.”

Indianapolis, IN (September 16, 2009) – With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation, three bus drivers have forced union officials to halt their unfair labor practices after union officials rebuffed the workers’ attempts to opt out of union membership and forced them to pay fees spent for union electioneering and other objectionable activities.

In the Foundation-won Communication Workers of America v. Beck (1988) decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that union officials can lawfully compel nonmembers to pay union dues as a job condition, but not the part of dues spent for activities like political activism, lobbying, and member-only events. However, these limited rights have been difficult to enforce, which adds further strength to the case for a state Right to Work law to end the abusive practice of forcing workers to pay dues or be fired.

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3826 union bosses failed to provide First Student school bus drivers with a notification of their rights under Beck. In March and April 2008, Barry and Connie Hickman sent two letters each to AFSCME Council 62, the regional body which handles the local’s objection policy, objecting to paying for non-bargaining costs they cannot be required to support financially. Thomas Spencer II sent a similar objection letter in May.

But in September, AFSCME union officials deducted forced dues from the paychecks of the Hickmans, Spencer, and other similarly situated employees, even though the employees never authorized dues deduction. Two months later, union bosses threatened that the employees would be fired by First Student if they did not join the union and sign dues deduction authorization cards.

In mid-January, AFSCME union brass finally provided the Hickmans with a notice of the union’s objection policy but informed them that they would need to send new objection letters by January 31, even though they had already each formally objected twice in the last year. Union officials never provided Spencer with such a notice at all and deducted full union dues from his paycheck without his consent.

The settlement requires union officials to post notices informing employees of their right to refrain from formal, full dues-paying membership. Spencer will be reimbursed for the union fees that union officials now admit funded non-chargeable activities.

AFSCME union officials will also provide the employees with an audited breakdown of chargeable expenses, and the workers will have the opportunity to challenge the amount of the reduced fees they will still be forced to pay. To date, 22 states have passed Right to Work protections that ensure employees are not forced to pay any union dues as a condition of employment, but Indiana remains a forced unionism state.

“Only a Right to Work law in Indiana will protect workers from power-hungry union bosses who trick, mislead, and threaten employees to pay union dues to fund their agenda,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “No worker should be forced to associate with a union as a condition of getting or keeping a job.”

Washington, DC (September 4, 2009) – Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and National Right to Work Committee, released the following statement regarding this year’s Labor Day holiday.

“This Labor Day, many Americans will enjoy a well-deserved long weekend. But as we celebrate the free-enterprise system and the value of hard work, union officials are mounting an unprecedented effort to grab more coercive power. At its core, their basic goal is simple: expand the number of workers forced to pay union dues and accept mandatory union representation just to keep their jobs.

“Unfortunately, the union hierarchy’s ambitions go well beyond the scope of previous years. Now that union operatives have helped install a President who in his own words says ‘he owes these unions,’ Big Labor is focused on a series of unprecedented power grabs.

"Their first priority is coercive ‘card check’ legislation, which would shove millions of unwilling workers into unions, disenfranchising workers from the process, and forcing struggling job-providers to knuckle-under to government-imposed contracts. Other legislative plans include the newly-revived Police and Firefighter Monopoly Bargaining Bill, which threatens America’s first responders with federally-mandated unionization. The National Right to Work Committee is mobilizing its 2.2 million members to combat these and other bills designed to force even more unwilling workers into unions.

“Throughout the United States, more than 12 million American workers are already compelled to pay union dues as a condition of keeping their jobs. And millions more are required by law to accept a union’s so-called ‘representation,’ even if they never asked or voted for it.

“Meanwhile, many workers feel they have no choice but to pay for organized labor’s extensive political activities, while others are still unaware of their right to object. That’s why the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is providing free legal aid to thousands of employees nationwide.

“This Labor Day, we commend all workers brave enough to stand up to union intimidation, harassment, and even violence as they defend their cherished freedoms. While we look forward to the day when no American is forced to pay tribute to an unwanted union, we must steel ourselves for the legislative and judicial battles ahead to defend employee freedom.”

To download Mark Mix’s statement as an MP3: Click here.

Los Angeles, CA (August 17, 2009) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has agreed to reconsider a controversial preliminary decision denying attempts by Los Angeles Times employees to remove a mandatory dues clause from the newspaper’s union contract. Attorneys from the National Right to Work Foundation are providing free legal assistance to workers seeking to rid themselves of any forced dues obligation.

Over the past six months, union officials from the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (GCC/IBT) Local 140-N union have repeatedly ordered Leon Carey, Jr. and similarly situated employees to pay union dues or face lawsuits in California civil court, citing a clause in the union’s contract with the Los Angeles Times.

Because California is not a Right to Work state, employees can be obligated to pay union dues related to collective bargaining as a condition of employment. However, employees cannot be legally compelled to join a union against their will. Employees also have the right to collect signatures for a deauthorization drive to formally revoke a union’s forced-dues privilege.

Carey collected signatures from over 30 percent of his fellow employees and filed a petition for deauthorization with the NLRB’s regional director. The regional director bizarrely refused to schedule the election to eliminate the forced union dues clause, claiming that workers can only pursue deauthorization if the union hierarchy forces them to pay dues upon penalty of losing their jobs.

In the Request for Review, Foundation attorneys noted that because union operatives have repeatedly threatened Carey with legal action if he refuses to pay, the union contract’s forced dues provisions constitute a de facto requirement for working at the Los Angeles Times.

Foundation attorneys have also filed separate unfair labor practice charges challenging the legality of the afore-mentioned provisions.

“We’re encouraged by the NLRB’s decision to review this unfounded preliminary ruling, but union-boss threats of lawsuits will continue as long as workers can be forced to pay dues as a condition of working at the LA Times,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Ultimately, making union membership and dues-payment completely voluntary is the only way to prevent this type of abuse in the future, which is why California desperately needs a Right to Work law.”

Clark County, NV (July 31, 2009) – A Nevada District Court has just ruled in favor of a Clark County construction management inspector, reaffirming the right of all Nevada public employees to pursue workplace complaints individually rather than rely on unwanted union officials to navigate the grievance process.

In January 2007, Mathew Burke filed a formal grievance with the Clark County Human Resources Office, alleging that his supervisor forced him to perform duties outside the scope of his employment. The County dismissed Burke’s complaint, indicating that any grievance should go through union officials despite Burke’s nonunion status and his lack of confidence in the union’s effectiveness.

With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, Burke subsequently challenged that decision at the Nevada Local Government Employee-Management Relations Board. Burke testified that as a nonunion employee, he was unsatisfied with being represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1107, the monopoly bargaining agent for his employer. Despite protests from County and SEIU officials, the Board ruled that Burke had the right to file individual grievances related to the terms of his employment without the union’s involvement.

Clark County officials then requested judicial review of the Board’s decision, claiming that under the union’s collective bargaining agreement, employees are not permitted to pursue individual workplace grievances. After reviewing the facts of the case, District Court Judge Douglas Herndon ruled in Burke’s favor, stating that Nevada law allows nonunion public employees to file complaints without union interference.

“Mr. Burke’s experience reveals the fundamental injustice of monopoly bargaining,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Workers should be able to file grievances and represent themselves individually, free from the interference of union officials who may not have their best interests at heart or who may even be in collusion with management.”