12 May 2009

Nurses Seek Ejection of Union at Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center; Union Bows Out Of Two Other Hospitals

Posted in News Releases

Houston, Texas (May 12, 2009) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, nurses at the Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center have filed a decertification petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to remove an unwanted union from their workplace.

The nurses’ decertification petition comes on the heels of the California Nurses Association (CNA) union’s decision to withdraw its controversial petitions for unionization at the Park Plaza and Houston Northwest medical centers. Hospital employees became increasingly disillusioned with union officials after many nurses raised concerns about conflict in the workplace and the quality of patient care.

The California Nurses Association union originally obtained its monopoly bargaining privileges at Cypress Fairbanks through a once-secret deal with Tenet Healthcare Corporation. Company officials agreed to provide union organizers with assistance as part of an “Election Procedures Agreement,” allowing CNA operatives to unionize the facility with relative ease.

The CNA-Tenet “Election Procedure Agreements” used in Houston and elsewhere typically included several provisions designed to quash anti-union dissent. Tenet managers were forbidden from answering hospital employees’ questions about unionization, and employees who opposed a union presence were prevented from using company facilities to express their views. CNA organizers, on the other hand, were given wide-ranging access to company grounds to facilitate unionization, as well as a list of employees’ home addresses.

The agreements between Tenet and the CNA also subverted the NLRB’s oversight role for workplace elections. Under the union’s scheme, the NLRB would merely count ballots and rubber stamp the union’s monopoly bargaining privileges instead of supervising the entire process.

After enduring a coercive CNA organizing campaign, nurses at Cypress Fairbanks filed an employee decertification petition to eject the union from their workplace. Once the NLRB confirms that the petition includes signatures from at least 30 percent of Cypress Fairbanks employees, federal administrators will supervise a secret-ballot election to determine whether the union hierarchy will retain its monopoly bargaining privileges.

“CNA operatives forced their union on these health care professionals using legally questionable tactics,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “We’re happy to report that these nurses will finally have their chance to send the CNA union bosses back to California.”

29 Apr 2009

AT&T Worker Files Federal Charges Over Forced Union Dues

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St. Louis, Missouri (April 29), 2009) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a St. Louis-based AT&T employee has filed unfair labor practice charges challenging a local area union’s compulsory dues requirements.

Despite resigning her union membership in 2004, Jeanette Burton of Imperial, Missouri was never informed of her right to opt-out of union dues used for politics and other non-bargaining activities. When Burton attempted to exercise her right to stop paying dues, Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 6300 union officials ignored her objections and continued to collect full union dues from her paycheck.

Moreover, union officials continued to force Burton to pay dues after the union’s contract with AT&T expired in April 2009. The union’s previous agreement with AT&T contained a provision requiring nonmember employees to pay union dues for collective bargaining, but after the agreement lapsed, Burton could no longer be compelled to pay any dues to CWA officials.

CWA Local 6300 also failed to provide Burton with a federally-mandated audit of union financial expenditures, which is necessary to allow workers to determine whether they are being forced to pay more than can be required as a condition of employment.

Under the Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent Communication Workers v. Beck, nonmember employees can be forced to pay certain union dues as a condition of employment, but they cannot be compelled to pay for politics, lobbying, public relations, and other non-bargaining activities. Union officials are also legally obligated to inform workers of these rights.

The Foundation’s unfair labor practice charges seek an end to all unlawful union deductions and guarantees that the union hierarchy will comply with its Beck obligations and reimburse nonunion workers’ forced dues. The case will now be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board.

“Workers shouldn’t have to jump through legal hoops just to protect their hard-earned paychecks,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The only way to stop future abuse is to pass a Missouri Right to Work law, making all union dues strictly voluntary.”

28 Apr 2009

Right to Work Foundation Files Lawsuit for Nonunion Worker Forced to Pay Teamster Dues

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Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (April 28, 2009) – National Right to Work Foundation attorneys today filed suit in United States District Court for an employee forced to pay agency fees by Teamsters officials at a Luzerne County government office.

The plaintiff, Jeffrey McCabe, is currently employed by the Luzerne County Office of Children and Youth Services. Although International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union 401 is the monopoly bargaining agent for McCabe’s office, McCabe never joined the union or consented to pay union dues.

Despite McCabe’s nonunion status, Teamsters officials failed to provide him with a federally-mandated breakdown of union expenditures and forced him to pay for union activities unrelated to collective bargaining. Teamsters officials also failed to give McCabe adequate notice of payroll deductions for forced agency fees, preventing him from challenging the Teamsters’ dues collections.

Under the Foundation-won Supreme Court precedent Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson, union officials are obligated to provide workers with an independent audit of union financial expenditures. Although employees may be forced to pay certain union dues as a condition of employment, they cannot be compelled to fund union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining. An independently-verified financial audit is required by law to ensure nonunion employees are not compelled to pay for non-bargaining activities.

The Foundation’s lawsuit seeks an immediate, court-ordered injunction to prevent further union paycheck deductions, a court order requiring the union to ensure workers have access to information on union expenditures, an order preventing the union from collecting dues unrelated to collective bargaining, and monetary damages for McCabe.

“Giving union officials free reign to deduct money from workers’ paychecks is an open invitation to abuse,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Enacting a Pennsylvania Right to Work law to make union dues fully voluntary is the only way to ensure employees are protected from avaricious union bosses.”

24 Apr 2009

School Bus Drivers File Charges against AFSCME Union for Illegal Threats, Dues Collections

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News Release

School Bus Drivers File Charges against AFSCME Union for Illegal Threats, Dues Collections

Lack of Right to Work law leads to ugly union abuse of workers

Indianapolis, IN (April 24, 2009)– With free legal aid from staff attorneys at the National Right to Work Foundation, three bus drivers have filed federal unfair labor practice charges against union bosses for an illegal scheme to bully nonmember employees into paying full union dues.

Barry Hickman, Connie Hickman, and Thomas Spencer II drive school buses for First Student, where they are forced to accept the “representation” of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3826. 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 pay for non-bargaining costs they could not be required to financially support. Spencer sent a similar objection letter in May.

Because Indiana is not yet a Right to Work state, nonmembers may be fired from their jobs for refusal to pay compulsory fees to a union with which they want nothing to do. However, union officials may not lawfully compel nonmembers to pay for activities like political activism, lobbying, and member-only events.

Read the full release here.

24 Apr 2009

School Bus Drivers File Charges against AFSCME Union for Illegal Threats, Dues Collections

Posted in News Releases

Indianapolis, IN (April 24, 2009) – With free legal aid from staff attorneys at the National Right to Work Foundation, three bus drivers have filed federal unfair labor practice charges against union bosses for an illegal scheme to bully nonmember employees into paying full union dues.

Barry Hickman, Connie Hickman, and Thomas Spencer II drive school buses for First Student, where they are forced to accept the “representation” of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3826. 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 pay for non-bargaining costs they could not be required to financially support. Spencer sent a similar objection letter in May.

Because Indiana is not yet a Right to Work state, nonmembers may be fired from their jobs for refusal to pay compulsory fees to a union with which they want nothing to do. However, union officials may not lawfully compel nonmembers to pay for activities like political activism, lobbying, and member-only events.

AFSCME union bosses, however, did not acknowledge the objection letters and failed to provide the employees with a notification of their rights under the Foundation-won Beck v. Communication Workers of America. Under Beck, unions must also provide such employees with an audited breakdown of chargeable expenses.

In September, AFSCME union officials deducted full union 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 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.

In charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board, Foundation attorneys argue that AFSCME union chiefs violated their duty of fair representation under federal labor law by deducting full union dues without the employees’ consent, failing to provide Beck notices before deducting dues, and illegally threatening the employees for exercising their absolute right to refrain from formal union membership.

“Time and time again, union bosses 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. “Only a Right to Work law in Indiana will protect against these heavy-handed tactics.

22 Apr 2009

10th Circuit Agrees With Right to Work Foundation: Utah Unions Have No Right to Payroll Deduction for Politics

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News Release

10th Circuit Agrees With Right to Work Foundation: Utah Unions Have No Right to Payroll Deduction for Politics

But a more effective alternative would have been stopping government payroll deduction for all union dues

Salt Lake City, UT (April 22, 2009) – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit yesterday reversed itself and ruled to uphold a Utah statute prohibiting union officials from using payroll deduction to divert teachers’ and other government workers’ money into union electioneering.

“Utah has a legitimate interest in avoiding the reality or appearance of government entanglement with partisan politics” and Utah’s Voluntary Contributions Act “plainly serves the State’s interest in separating public employment from political activities,” the court held.

The National Right to Work Foundation joined in an amici brief with the Utah-based Sutherland Institute (and others) to defend the Utah statute which had previously been struck down. After initially siding with union attorneys who argued the law somehow violated the constitutional rights of the union, the Tenth Circuit put the case on hold pending the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving a similar Idaho statute.

Click here to read the rest of the Foundation’s press release. The Deseret News covered the reversal here.

22 Apr 2009

10th Circuit Agrees With Right to Work Foundation: Utah Unions Have No Right to Payroll Deduction for Politics

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Salt Lake City, UT (April 22, 2009) – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit yesterday reversed itself and ruled to uphold a Utah statute prohibiting union officials from using payroll deduction to divert teachers’ and other government workers’ money into union electioneering.

“Utah has a legitimate interest in avoiding the reality or appearance of government entanglement with partisan politics” and Utah’s Voluntary Contributions Act “plainly serves the State’s interest in separating public employment from political activities,” the court held.

The National Right to Work Foundation joined in an amici brief with the Utah-based Sutherland Institute (and others) to defend the Utah statute which had previously been struck down. After initially siding with union attorneys who argued the law somehow violated the constitutional rights of the union, the Tenth Circuit put the case on hold pending the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving a similar Idaho statute.

National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys successfully argued in their briefs in Utah Education Association et al. v. Mark Shurtleff – just as they did at the U.S. Supreme Court in Ysursa v. Pocatello Education Association at al. – that unions have no constitutional right to use government resources to deduct dues from workers’ paychecks.

“The recent Supreme Court’s decision and now this Tenth Circuit ruling makes clear what should have been obvious: union officials have no constitutional right to use government resources to line their pockets,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “It is bad public policy for government bodies essentially to act as bagmen for union political monies.”

“But there was a much more effective way to address this problem. The Utah legislature should simply have banned all union payroll deductions, not just those for narrowly defined political activities,” continued Gleason. “Unfortunately, the definition of politics covered by such laws is so narrow that union bosses are essentially able to continue business as usual.”

Since Utah is a Right to Work state, employees have the right to refrain from union membership and cannot be lawfully compelled to pay any dues whatsoever to a union. Employees who wish to ensure none of their dues are spent to promote a union’s agenda can best do so by exercising their Right to Work.

21 Apr 2009

Employees Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Reinstate RICO Case against UAW Union Organizing Scheme

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News Release

Employees Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Reinstate RICO Case against UAW Union Organizing Scheme

National Right to Work Foundation urges High Court to allow enforcement of longstanding labor bribery statutes against increasingly common union schemes

Washington, DC (April 21, 2009) – Today, National Right to Work Foundation attorneys filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court to uphold workers’ challenge to a secret quid pro quo agreement intended to install the United Auto Workers (UAW) union at Freightliner plants in North and South Carolina.

With free legal aid from the Foundation, five employees at three plants operated by Daimler Trucks subsidiary Freightliner filed a class-action federal racketeering lawsuit in 2006 challenging an illegal scheme in which union officials agreed in advance to significant concessions at the expense of the Freightliner workers at its non-union facilities in North Carolina in exchange for valuable company assistance in organizing those workers.

Click here to read the full release.  Download a PDF copy of the petition.  For additional background information about the case, click here.

21 Apr 2009

Employees Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Reinstate RICO Case against UAW Union Organizing Scheme

Posted in News Releases

Washington, DC (April 21, 2009) – Today, National Right to Work Foundation attorneys filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court to uphold workers’ challenge to a secret quid pro quo agreement intended to install the United Auto Workers (UAW) union at Freightliner plants in North and South Carolina.

With free legal aid from the Foundation, five employees at three plants operated by Daimler Trucks subsidiary Freightliner filed a class-action federal racketeering lawsuit in 2006 challenging an illegal scheme in which union officials agreed in advance to significant concessions at the expense of the Freightliner workers at its non-union facilities in North Carolina in exchange for valuable company assistance in organizing those workers.

Federal law bars companies from giving “things of value” to unions or union officials, and it is also illegal for company and union agents to negotiate terms and conditions of employment before the union hierarchy has proven a majority of employees actually want it to represent them. But in a secret “Preconditions to Card Check Procedure” pact inked before employees even knew they were a UAW union organizing target, Freightliner and the UAW union expressly agreed to limitations on wages, an increase in the health care costs shouldered by employees, and other concessions.

In return, Freightliner gave the UAW union organizers direct access to propagandize employees at compulsory “captive audience” meetings and to harangue them in company break rooms, granted union organizers access to employees’ private home addresses, agreed not to provide truthful information to employees about the downsides of unionization, and agreed to automatically recognize the union without a secret ballot vote when presented the requisite number of signed union authorization cards.

In such “card check” organizing drives, employees are frequently coerced or misled into signing such cards, which are then counted as “votes.” Workers have also complained that signed cards are difficult to revoke.

In December, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld union lawyers’ motion to dismiss the case. Foundation attorneys argue the lower court erroneously limited “things of value” to only tangible and explicit monetary benefits. But given the millions of dollars unions spend on corporate campaigns to obtain the advantages delivered by Freightliner in this case, the UAW clearly obtained “things of value.” Moreover, the court could have simply remanded for fact finding as to monetary value, which can easily be established.

“We urge the Supreme Court to do what the lower courts have refused: restore the rights of American workers victimized by sweetheart deals between management and union bosses,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation.

The employees seek financial restitution to all employees at the Mount Holly, Gastonia, and Cleveland, North Carolina, facilities in the form of treble damages for all dues seized and earnings lost as a result of the unlawful pact. Additional Freightliner plants known to be covered by the once-secret agreement are located in High Point, North Carolina, and Gaffney, South Carolina.

13 Apr 2009

AT&T Employee Files Federal Charges Against Communications Union for Illegal Threats

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St. Louis, Missouri (April 13, 2009) – A St. Louis-based AT&T worker has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against a national union for illegal threats in the run-up to an impending national strike.

With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation, David McBride of Granite City, Illinois filed charges alleging that Communication Workers of America (CWA) union officials threatened him with legal action if he refused to go on strike and failed to provide him with a federally-mandated audit of union expenditures.

CWA union officials appear to be on the verge of ordering 20,000 employees to abandon their jobs as part of a nationwide strike against AT&T Mobility. However, numerous employees across the United States have contacted the National Right to Work Foundation for legal advice after being falsely informed by CWA officials that they are obligated to participate in the union’s upcoming work stoppage or face severe penalties.

Foundation attorneys have already helped three New Jersey AT&T employees file unfair labor practice charges against CWA Local 1101.

In St. Louis, union officials demanded that McBride sign a “strike assignment form” despite his previous decision to resign from the union. Union officials threatened to “take [him] to court” if McBride refused to participate in the union-instigated strike.

Under the Supreme Court decision Pattern Makers v. NLRB, workers have an absolute right to resign from formal, full dues-paying union membership at any time. Union officials have no legal power to punish employees for resigning from the union and refusing to abandon their jobs during a strike.

Additionally, CWA Local 6300 union officials refused to provide McBride with a financial breakdown of all union expenditures. Because nonmember employees in non-Right to Work states can still be forced to pay union dues for collective bargaining, this disclosure is required to allow nonunion workers to opt-out of union dues unrelated to workplace negotiations.

Union officials have also told CWA union members in Washington, Michigan, Ohio and New Jersey that any attempt to resign from union membership is strictly prohibited. In Ohio, CWA bosses responded to one worker’s inquiry by telling him that he was employed in a “forced union” state. Foundation attorneys anticipate filing additional unfair labor practice charges for these union-abused workers in the coming weeks.

“It’s particularly despicable to threaten workers with legal retaliation if they refuse to abandon their jobs in the midst of an economic crisis,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “All workers should be free to support their families, free from ugly threats by union bosses.”

“The National Right to Work Foundation stands ready to defend the rights of any AT&T employee who is being illegally threatened or coerced by CWA officials,” added Gleason.