Albuquerque, N.M. (July 2, 2004) – Certifying a federal civil rights lawsuit as a class action, the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico authorized hundreds of nonunion employees of the City of Albuquerque to challenge the misuse of their forced union dues for politics and other activities.

National Right to Work Foundation attorneys filed the class action suit, Harrington v. Albuquerque, on behalf of roughly 300 blue-collar city government employees against the City of Albuquerque and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Union Local 624, New Mexico Council 18, and AFSCME International.

Foundation attorneys filed the suit after the City unlawfully deducted forced union dues from the paychecks of nonmembers used for activities unrelated to collective bargaining, including support of union politics, without proper procedural protections. The unlawfully seized dues were deducted from workers’ paychecks between July 1999 and April 2000. The amount of unlawfully seized dues in question amounts to roughly $36,000, and the AFSCME union faces the possibility of a substantial judgment awarding punitive damages, particularly in light of its misconduct. AFSCME’s notice to nonunion workers also misrepresented how union officials were spending their forced dues.

Certification of the class action suit follows the remanding of a similar case, Wessel v. City of Albuquerque, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. In Wessel, which was not a class action, the Court of Appeals ruled that workers’ procedural rights had been violated, and that they could seek restitution of monies not used for lawful chargeable purposes.

Senior Judge C. Leroy Hansen dismissed the arguments of AFSCME union lawyers to prevent Foundation attorneys from being recognized as counsel for all employees who are similarly situated to the lead plaintiff, stating, “…all [AFSCME union] Defendants have shown is that Plaintiffs’ counsel want to win this lawsuit…The Defendants do not allege that Plaintiffs’ counsel has acted unethically or otherwise inappropriately, as the Defendants’ counsel have repeatedly done themselves.”

Judge Hansen’s comments referred to arguments by AFSCME union lawyers opposing class action certification that cited language from previous cases “…out of context under the apparent and mistaken impression that the court would not read the cases cited in their briefs…”

The actions of AFSCME union officials violated First Amendment protections as articulated in the Foundation-won Supreme Court decision in Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson. Under Hudson, union officials must provide an independently audited disclosure of their books and justify expenditures before seizing any forced union dues from employees who have chosen to refrain from union membership.

“AFSCME officials are trying to get away with using City of Albuquerque employees as their personal piggy bank,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Rather than actually represent these workers, union operatives simply want them to shut up and pay up.”

Winston-Salem, N.C. (June 30, 2004) ¯ In a potentially precedent setting action, the Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has decided to prosecute the nation’s largest automotive union and Freightliner for illegally coercing workers to sign union recognition cards at the Thomas Built Bus facility in High Point, N.C., during a recent union organizing drive. Upon learning of the NLRB’s decision, Freightliner officials initially announced that they “suspended recognition” of the union — but quickly backpedalled, stating that they would merely “put everything on hold.”

The NLRB’s decision to issue a formal complaint comes in response to unfair labor practice charges filed by National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys on behalf of Thomas Built employee Jeff Ward after his employer granted United Auto Workers (UAW) union officials wide access to company facilities. The employer and UAW officials jointly conducted mandatory pro-union “captive audience speeches” to coerce the plant’s workers to sign union recognition cards pursuant to the so-called “neutrality agreement.”

The decision to prosecute the union and Freightliner for unfair labor practices comes shortly after roughly 400 Thomas Built workers filed a petition demanding a secret ballot decertification election to strip UAW union officials of their newly granted “exclusive representation” power over roughly 1,100 of the company’s employees.

The illegal actions come after UAW union operatives pressured Freightliner, Thomas Built’s parent company, to sign a so-called “neutrality agreement” that prohibits a traditional and less abusive secret ballot election process in favor of a coercive “card check” campaign. Under the agreement, union organizers were given full access to employees’ personal information and company facilities to browbeat workers into signing union recognition cards that were counted as “votes” for unionization. Employees complained of “captive audience” speeches during which UAW officials coerced employees to sign cards.

The NLRB will prosecute the UAW for use of these coercive “captive audience” speeches, and Freightliner for granting UAW operatives sweeping access to Thomas Built facilities during work hours for the purposes of browbeating workers into signing union recognition cards. These actions rendered the so-called “card check” coercive and invalid.

“Until today, the NLRB’s general counsel and subordinate offices have failed to take action addressing the abuses under ‘neutrality agreements’ and ‘card check’ drives. This a small but encouraging first step towards protecting the rights of thousands of workers across the country facing this coercive union organizing tactic,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Workers ought to be able to decide their own representation in an atmosphere free of coercion from their employer and union officials.”

Dover, Del. (June 29, 2004) — Three employees of Delaware State University (DSU) today filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court against local and statewide union officials, as well as top DSU executives, for violating their constitutional rights by deducting compulsory union dues from the paychecks of nonunion employees.

The DSU technical facilities employees, receiving free legal aid from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys, charge that American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Union Locals 1007 and 1267, and statewide Council 81 officials, collected compulsory dues without properly disclosing the unions’ expenditures, as required under Supreme Court precedent applying the First Amendment.

The workers also charge DSU President Dr. Allen Sessoms and Vice President Ron Parr, who are ultimately responsible for overseeing the proper implementation of monopoly bargaining agreements affecting University employees, for allowing the unlawful deductions.

James Perry, Randy Hodges, and recently awarded Employee of the Year Mike Hudson, filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The workers allege that AFSCME union officials intentionally seized the forced union dues without first providing the independently audited financial disclosure required by a long-standing U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson, a case argued and won by Foundation attorneys, established that under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, employees have due process rights to ensure they are not forced to pay for ideological and other non-collective bargaining activities they may oppose.

Perry, Johnson, and Hodges are asking the court to enjoin AFSCME union and DSU officials from collecting forced dues from any Delaware nonunion public employee until they provide an audited accounting as to how compulsory union dues are spent, along with the other required procedures that protect the First Amendment rights of nonmembers.

In addition, the workers seek class-action status for their case, as well as restitution for all Delaware public employees who pay “agency fees” to the AFSCME union of fees spent on non-bargaining activities since June 2002. If the court grants class-action status, a remedy in the case could force significant financial reimbursements to all past, present, and future nonunion Delaware public employees who were unlawfully forced to pay union fees — a number believed to exceed 100.

“Union officials simply want employees to shut up and pay up,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. “Unfortunately, without the protections of a Right to Work law, Delaware state employees can be forced to pay certain compulsory union dues or risk losing their jobs. However, they do have due process rights.”

Washington, D.C. (June 10, 2004) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) voted 3-2 late Wednesday to consider whether union-opposition petitions signed by a majority of employees may be completely ignored during a “card check” organizing drive.

The NLRB announced its ruling in a case involving the United Steel Workers of America (USWA) union just two days after agreeing to decide related issues raised by employees coerced into union ranks by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union at Dana Corporation and Metaldyne. In those cases, the employees’ petitions seeking a secret ballot election to throw out the union were gathered after the employer recognized the union pursuant to a “card check” process.

National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys brought this case on behalf of employees at Cequent Towing Product’s (Cequent) plant in Goshen, Indiana. Workers at the facility recently found themselves unionized by the USWA union despite the fact that a majority of employees had submitted a petition expressing their desire to remain union free in advance of the union’s recognition by their employer as their “exclusive bargaining representative.” Cequent officials had implemented a so-called “neutrality agreement” with the USWA union that severely limited employee freedoms.

The NLRB’s ultimate decision will impact the enforceability of so-called “neutrality agreements,” contracts between a union and an employer under which the employer agrees to actively assist organizers in unionizing its workers. Under these coercive agreements, employers typically grant union operatives sweeping access to their workplaces and employees’ personal information, strip workers of the opportunity to a secret ballot representation election, and hold mandatory “captive audience” speeches about why employees should be unionized. Workers are typically subjected to “card check” drives in which union operatives bully workers face-to-face to sign union authorization cards that count as a “vote” in favor of unionization.

The Cequent workers are seeking a decertification election to decide whether Steelworkers union officials truly enjoy the support of a majority of Cequent’s 450 employees and may lawfully act as their “exclusive representative.” An NLRB regional director had previously dismissed the election petitions, and the employees appealed to the NLRB in Washington, DC.

In granting review, the Board will reevaluate its so-called “voluntary recognition bar rule,” the non-statutory, Board-created rule stipulating that unions gaining so-called “voluntary recognition” from an employer may avoid all employee challenges and bargain with an employer for a “reasonable period” — sometimes lasting for up to one year.

“UAW and Steelworkers union officials insist that a small minority of union activists should have the power to force a dissenting majority into union ranks,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Employees should be allowed to decide for themselves whether to unionize – free of union and employer coercion.”

If the NLRB voids or revises the “voluntary recognition bar” and a decertification election is allowed and successful, the USWA union would lose its power to act as the “exclusive bargaining representative” of the employees at Cequent. The employees would then be free to negotiate their own terms and conditions of employment.

Washington, D.C. (June 8, 2004) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) late Monday voted 3-2 to reconsider its policy of denying employees a secret ballot vote on unionization after a union has been recognized pursuant to the controversial “card check” organizing process.

In granting review of two cases appealed by National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys on behalf of employees at two automotive suppliers (Dana and Metaldyne) who recently found themselves organized by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, the federal agency is soliciting input from the labor-management community as to the general legality of an increasingly prevalent union organizing method that reduces employee freedom.

The NLRB’s ultimate decision will impact the enforceability of so-called “neutrality” agreements, contracts between a union and an employer under which the employer agrees to actively assist organizers in unionizing its workers. Under these coercive agreements, employers typically grant union operatives sweeping access to their workplaces and employees’ personal information, strip workers of the opportunity to a secret ballot representation election, and hold mandatory “captive audience” speeches about why employees should be unionized. Workers are typically subjected to “card check” drives in which union operatives bully workers face-to-face to sign union authorization cards that count as a “vote” in favor of unionization.

In granting review, the majority wrote: “We believe that the increased use of recognition agreements, the varying contexts in which a recognition agreement can be reached, the superiority of Board supervised secret ballot elections, and the importance of Section 7 rights of employees [to refrain from unionization], are all factors which warrant a critical look at the issues raised herein.”

The NLRB ruling comes through the consolidated cases of employees at Dana Corporation in Upper Sandusky, Ohio and Metaldyne in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, who filed decertification petitions (with 35 percent and more than 50 percent of employees signing, respectively) seeking an election to decide whether officials of the nation’s largest auto workers union truly enjoyed the support of a majority of employees and could lawfully act as their “exclusive representative.” The NLRB regional directors dismissed the election petitions, and the employees appealed to the NLRB in Washington, DC.

The Board will reevaluate its so-called “voluntary recognition bar rule,” the non-statutory, Board-created rule stipulating that unions gaining voluntary recognition from an employer may avoid all employee challenges and bargain with an employer for a so-called “reasonable period” — sometimes lasting for up to one year.

“Increasingly unable to sell workers on union membership, union officials have resorted to coercive tactics such as ‘neutrality’ agreements and the in-your-face “card check” solicitation process to intimidate workers into supporting a union,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Employees should be allowed to decide whether to unionize free of union and employer coercion.”

If the NLRB voids the “voluntary recognition bar” and a decertification election is allowed and successful, the UAW would lose its power to act as the “exclusive bargaining representative” of the employees at Dana and Metaldyne. The employees would then be free to negotiate their own terms and conditions of employment.

High Point, N.C. (June 1, 2004) – Employees at the Thomas Built Bus facility in High Point have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an election that could strip officials of the nation’s largest auto workers union of their newly granted “exclusive representation” power over roughly 1,100 of the company’s employees.

The official filing comes on the heels of top United Auto Workers (UAW) brass expressing confidence in the local press that the UAW union enjoys “majority” support among Thomas Built employees.

With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, Jeff Ward filed the decertification petition signed by 36 percent of his coworkers after Thomas Built began bargaining with the UAW union without allowing the employees to cast a secret ballot to determine their union status.

Bowing to pressure brought by UAW union operatives, Freightliner, Thomas Built’s parent company, signed a so-called “neutrality agreement” that prohibits a traditional and less abusive secret ballot election process in favor of a coercive “card check” campaign. Under the agreement, union organizers were given full access to employees’ personal information and company facilities to browbeat workers into signing union recognition cards that were counted as “votes” for unionization. Employees complained of “captive audience” speeches during which Freightliner and UAW officials coerced employees to sign cards.

If a decertification election is allowed and is successful, the UAW would lose its special privilege to act as the “exclusive bargaining representative” of the employees. All Thomas Built Bus employees then would be free to negotiate their own terms and conditions of employment and could be rewarded on their individual merit.

“Thomas Built employees should be allowed, once and for all, to have a voice in whether they are unionized,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “It’s an outrage that Freightliner struck a backroom deal with UAW officials to deny these workers their rights.”

The filing of the decertification petition follows Ward’s filing of an unfair labor practice charge at the NLRB against his employer and UAW officials for jointly coercing the plant’s workers to accept an unwanted union pursuant to the so-called “neutrality agreement.” In addition, Ward recently appeared at a Capitol Hill press conference to denounce abuses suffered by workers at the High Point facility at the hands of UAW operatives in their recent organizing push.

Under the National Labor Relations Act, if 30% or more of the employees in a bargaining unit sign a decertification petition, the NLRB should conduct a secret ballot election to determine if a majority of the employees wish to decertify the union and stop it from any further “exclusive representation.”

Ft. Rucker, Alabama (May 26, 2004) – Responding to federal charges filed by National Right to Work Foundation attorneys on behalf of a Shaw Infrastructure engineer at Ft. Rucker, union officials have agreed to pay $12,000 in damages after unlawfully having him fired for refusal to pay union dues.

As part of a settlement agreement finalized today, union officials must also post a notice informing workers of the settlement, as well as their right to refrain from full-dues-paying union membership.

In August 2003, Danny McDuffie filed unfair labor practice charges at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Wire Metal Trades Council (WMTC) union officials for unlawfully having him fired for refusal to pay full union dues and sign a dues check-off form authorizing the automatic deduction of union dues from his paycheck.

While Alabama’s highly popular Right to Work law, on the books since 1953, normally prevents workers from having to pay dues to an unwanted union, much of Ft. Rucker is an “exclusive federal enclave” that instead falls under the jurisdiction of federal labor laws that authorize compulsory unionism. Nevertheless, Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court victories establish that employees laboring under compulsory unionism have certain due process rights.

Prior to having McDuffie fired, WMTC union officials failed to inform Shaw Infrastructure employees of their right to refrain from formal union membership and their right not to be forced to pay more than a union’s collective bargaining costs.

“WMTC officials were so bent on crushing any dissent that they drove Danny McDuffie from his job, while trying to keep workers in the dark about their rights,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Union officials seem to care much more about stuffing their coffers with workers’ dues rather than treating the rank-and-file employees they claim to represent with respect.”

While McDuffie has decided not to accept re-instatement, union officials must pay him $12,000 in lost pay plus interest and immediately post notices conspicuously in the workplace to inform current Shaw Infrastructure workers of their rights.

The actions of WMTC union officials violated the Foundation-won Communications Workers v. Beck U.S. Supreme Court decision. Under Beck, workers may resign from formal union membership and halt and reclaim the portion of forced union dues spent on activities unrelated to collective bargaining, such as union electoral politics. Union officials must also provide workers with an independent audit of union expenditures to verify that forced union dues are not spent on non-collective bargaining activities.

Flint, Mich. (May 10, 2004) — An Intier Automotive, Ontegra-Brighton (Intier) employee today filed class-action charges against the United Auto Workers (UAW) union after union officials unlawfully misinformed workers about their rights to refrain from formal union membership. The worker also charged UAW officials with threatening workers with internal union discipline – even discharge – simply for reporting accidents, machine failures, or health and safety violations to their employer.

With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, Erik Daly, a nonunion employee at the Intier factory, filed the unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against both the UAW Local 599 union and the UAW International union.

Daly charges that UAW officials unlawfully informed the entire bargaining unit, in writing, that all workers are required to be full union members in good standing with the union, and if they are suspended or otherwise placed in bad standing with the union, they will be fired from their jobs.

Daly also charges that the UAW Local 599 union’s own newsletter contains explicit threats against Intier workers that reporting accidents or health and safety concerns may result in workers being “reprimanded or suspended” and that “This means you may not work in this union-represented plant.”

In November 2001, a previous unfair labor practice charge filed by Daly required Local 599 officials to revoke illegally obtained membership and dues deduction authorization cards obtained by union officials after they issued an illegal ultimatum to Intier employees telling them to sign membership cards or “join the unemployment line.”

“UAW officials are again using lies, intimidation, and threats to stamp out any independence or professionalism exercised by Intier workers,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “This recalcitrant union hierarchy seems willing to use any tactic to punish workers that refuse to toe the UAW line.”

Under numerous U.S. Supreme Court precedents, including Pattern Makers v. NLRB, workers have the right to resign their formal union memberships at any time. Union officials must also specifically inform employees of their right to refrain from formal, full dues-paying union membership before seizing any forced union dues.

UAW officials’ actions also violated the Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court decision in Communications Workers v. Beck. Under Beck, union officials may not compel workers to pay for politics and other activities unrelated to collective bargaining activities. The UAW union, in the past, has admitted that at least 21% of each member’s union dues goes toward politics and similar activities.

Los Gatos, Calif. (April 26, 2004) – A nurse employed by Community Hospital of Los Gatos today filed class-action federal charges against both Tenet Healthcare and the California Nurses Association (CNA) union for attempting to unlawfully corral hospital nurses into unwanted union representation.

The nurse alleges that hospital management granted CNA union officials wide access to the workplace in order to browbeat nurses into signing union authorization cards. CNA officials even began bargaining with Tenet over wages and working conditions without CNA having first obtained support from a majority of employees.

Sherril Hopper, a five-year veteran registered nurse at the San Jose-area hospital, filed the unfair labor practice charges at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys.

Hopper alleges that CNA union officials confronted nurses in the hospital parking lot, and misrepresented that the cards were petitions that would help pass a bill supposedly aiding California nurses – rather than something that would be counted as support for unionization. Hopper also reports that numerous coworkers were called and visited at home by CNA union operatives. CNA officials obtained nurses’ home addresses and phone numbers from the hospital without their consent.

Upon receipt of Hopper’s unfair labor practice charges, the NLRB must investigate the allegations and decide whether to issue formal complaints and prosecute the case. The charges seek to bar the company from continuing actively to support union organizing efforts at Tenet’s California hospitals. Tenet agreed to support unionization of its employees after CNA union officials waged a relentless “corporate campaign,” using pressure through the media and public officials to paint Tenet as a social outlaw.

“CNA union officials are shamelessly using numerous unlawful tactics to strong-arm nurses into union ranks regardless of their wishes,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation.

In addition to deceiving nurses in order to induce them to sign union cards, Hopper reports that CNA organizers have set up on site at the hospital to put daily pressure on nurses to install the CNA as their monopoly representative. Meanwhile, Tenet has stifled counter-efforts by nurses who wish to remain union free.

Frustrated that workers are not voluntarily choosing to join or be represented by unions, union officials have increasingly turned to bullying employers into actively aiding unions in imposing unionization on employees through so-called “partnership” and “neutrality” agreements. Through these “top-down” organizing techniques, employees are denied the opportunity to determine their union status through the less-abusive, NLRB-supervised secret ballot election process.

Washington, D.C. (April 22, 2004) – Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a national workplace rights advocacy group, issued the following statement regarding today’s House Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations hearing titled “Developments in Labor Law: Examining Trends and Tactics in Labor Organization Campaigns”:

“Unable to persuade employees to support unionization voluntarily, union organizers now frequently use what amounts to economic blackmail to pressure companies to sign backroom ‘neutrality agreements’ which hand a company’s employees over to compulsory unionism – contrary to employees’ wishes.

“These often coerced deals strip workers of the opportunity to vote in a secret ballot election, grant union operatives sweeping access to the workplace (as well as employees’ confidential personal information), and enable union organizers to make unwelcome home-visits and use other pressure tactics to elicit signatures on union authorization cards. Employees are also often subjected to mandatory ‘captive audience’ speeches threatening possible job loss and other retaliation if they fail to sign the cards.

“Despite more than a dozen formal allegations of abuse by workers across the country challenging the validity and implementation of these coercive agreements, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) bureaucracy has so far failed to take action.

“NLRB General Counsel Arthur Rosenfeld has the power to ameliorate this problem by issuing complaints, but regrettably, he has not been called to testify today. Without immediate action by the NLRB, American workers stand to lose what few rights they currently enjoy under federal labor law to determine their own union status.

“While we certainly welcome any effort to bring attention to this important issue, Congress should hold additional hearings that lay bare the ugly realities of top-down organizing, call Mr. Rosenfeld to explain the NLRB’s refusal to act, and receive testimony from several of the countless thousands of rank-and-file employees who have had their rights trampled upon by top-down organizing tactics.”

Click here to read the testimony that National Right to Work Foundation Staff Attorney Glenn Taubman gave to the Subcommittee.