Cincinnati-Area Kroger Worker Secures Victory Against Illegal Union Dues Deductions
The following article is from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation’s bi-monthly Foundation Action Newsletter, May/June 2025 edition. To view other editions of Foundation Action or to sign up for a free subscription, click here.
After legal win, grocery employee based near Cincinnati finds job in nearby Right to Work Kentucky to escape forced dues
Northern Kentucky (foreground) might be just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, OH, but the difference in worker freedom is stark. Without Right to Work, forced dues abuses are rampant compared to Right to Work Kentucky.
CINCINNATI, OH – In a win for employee freedom, James Carroll, a Kroger employee based near Cincinnati, has secured victory in his federal case against United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 75 and Kroger. The win comes after Carroll challenged the union and his employer for unlawfully deducting union dues from his paycheck and threatening him with termination for refusing to sign an illegal dues deduction form.
Carroll, with free legal support from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 9 in Cincinnati. His case exposed the UFCW’s use of an unlawful “dual-purpose” membership form, which combines union membership and dues deduction authorization into a single signature. Under established Supreme Court legal precedents, workers have the right to refrain from formal union membership, and any dues deduction authorizations must be voluntary and separate from membership agreements.
In order to avoid further prosecution, Kroger and UFCW entered into a settlement that requires them to reimburse Carroll for the illegally seized dues and publicly post a notice informing other employees of their rights.
But Carroll didn’t stop there. To protect himself from future union coercion, he secured a transfer to a Kroger store in Right to Work Kentucky. Unlike Ohio, where workers can be forced to pay union fees even as non-members, Kentucky’s Right to Work law ensures that all union payments are voluntary, shielding Carroll from further threats that he pay up or face termination.
This case challenging the UFCW’s forced dues abuse of grocery employees isn’t an isolated incident. In 2023, Houston-area Kroger employee Jessica Haefner, also aided by Foundation attorneys, filed charges against UFCW for using a dual-purpose form and altering her response to falsely indicate consent for dues deductions.
More recently, in 2024, Portland grocery worker Reegin Schaffer won a case against UFCW after union officials ignored her resignation request during a strike and retaliated by attempting to fine her for working.
Another Worker Flees to the Freedom of Right to Work
“We are pleased with this legal win for Mr. Carroll, and that he is now completely free of union bosses’ forced-dues demands in Right to Work Kentucky,” commented National Right to Work Foundation Vice President and Legal Director William Messenger.
“Unfortunately most workers employed in forced dues states don’t have the option to commute to a job in a Right to Work state, which is why workers everywhere need the protection of Right to Work laws.”
Cincinnati-Area Kroger Employee Wins Federal Case Against UFCW, Grocer for Illegal Union Dues Deductions
Kroger and union must reimburse unlawfully seized dues as worker transfers to store in Right to Work Kentucky to block any future forced dues
Fairfield, OH (March 4, 2025 ) – Kroger Grocery employee James Carroll has prevailed in his federal case against United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 75 union and corporate grocery conglomerate Kroger. The resolution comes after charges were filed against UFCW for threatening Carroll with termination for refusing to sign an illegal union dues deduction form and against Kroger for unlawfully deducting union dues from his paycheck.
To avoid prosecution, Kroger and UFCW agreed to a settlement that requires them to reimburse Carroll for unlawfully seized dues and post a public notice informing employees of their rights. Carroll received free legal aid from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys.
Carroll’s charges at Region 9 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Cincinnati explain that the form UFCW union bosses forced him to sign is an illegal “dual purpose” membership form, which seeks only one employee signature for authorization of both union membership and dues deductions. Federal labor law requires that any authorization for union dues deductions be voluntary and separate from a union membership application. Additionally, Supreme Court precedents like General Motors v. NLRB recognize the right of workers to refrain from formal union membership.
In contrast to neighboring Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia, Ohio lacks a state Right to Work law. This means UFCW union officials to have the power to force Carroll and his coworkers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of keeping a job, even if they are nonmembers. However, even without Right to Work, union officials must obtain employees’ consent before instructing an employer to deduct union dues directly from a worker’s paycheck, and forced-fee amounts cannot include money that goes toward a union’s political activity, as established in the Foundation-won CWA v. Beck Supreme Court decision.
In addition to securing a victory in his case, Carroll took the additional step of transferring to a Kroger store in Right to Work Kentucky to avoid any future union threats demanding payment. Under Right to Work, all payments to the union are strictly voluntary, meaning Carroll cannot be forced to fund the very UFCW officials who violated his rights.
On Illegal Dues Practices, Kroger and UFCW Are Repeat Offenders
This isn’t the first time Foundation attorneys have aided Kroger employees facing illegal dual-purpose membership forms pushed by UFCW union bosses. In February 2023, Houston, TX-area Kroger worker Jessica Haefner filed federal charges against the UFCW for presenting her with such a dual-purpose form, and for altering her writing on the form to show she consented to union dues deductions when she was actually trying to exercise her right under Texas’ Right to Work law to abstain from dues payment.
In 2024, Foundation attorneys also assisted a Portland-area grocery store employee Reegin Schaffer, who filed and won federal unfair labor practice charges against a UFCW union there. In that case, union officials ignored her requests to resign union membership during a union strike and then unlawfully retaliated against her by seeking to fine her for exercising her right to rebuff union boss strike orders and go to work.
“We are pleased with this legal victory for Mr. Carroll, and that he is now completely free of union bosses’ forced-dues demands because he works in Right to Work Kentucky,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Of course most workers subjected to union bosses’ ‘pay-up-or-be-fired’ threats don’t have the option of commuting to a location in a Right to Work state.
“That’s why, despite the good resolution, though this case shows why workers everywhere need Right to Work protections,” added Mix.
Northern KY Worker Asks State Official to Prosecute Steelworkers Union for Violating Kentucky Right to Work Law
Union bosses illegally force workers to join and financially support union despite 2017 law making union support strictly voluntary
Frankfort, KY (June 30, 2022) – An Erlanger, KY-based employee of paper bag manufacturer Duro Hilex Poly is asking the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet Secretary to prosecute the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 832 union and the company for violating Kentucky’s Right to Work law. The complaint notes that Local 832 officials are illegally demanding both union membership and full dues payment from workers as a condition of staying employed, a clear violation of the Commonwealth’s Right to Work law that makes union membership and financial support strictly voluntary.
The employee, Melva Hernandez, is receiving free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. She maintains that the company deducted dues money illegally from her paycheck for the union as the result of a forced unionism contract provision that cannot lawfully be enforced in Kentucky. Because the dues seizures and other conduct the union perpetrated are also illegal under federal law, she has also filed federal unfair labor practice charges at National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 9 in Cincinnati.
In Kentucky and 26 other states with Right to Work protections, union membership and union financial support are strictly voluntary and the choice of each individual worker. Private-sector workers employed in states lacking such protections must rely on federal labor law, which authorizes union officials in non-Right to Work states to demand some union “fees” from workers under their control as a condition of employment. Kentucky enacted Right to Work in 2017, one of five states to pass a Right to Work law since 2012.
Even though federal law permits compulsory union “fees” in non-Right to Work states, it prohibits compulsory union membership and requires union officials to obtain written consent from a worker before deducting union dues or fees directly from his or her paychecks.
Union Officials Forced Duro Employee into Membership & Dues Payment, Sought to Ban Speech Critical of Union
Hernandez has worked at Duro Hilex Poly since 2011 and maintains that she was “forced to become and remain a member of the union and pay dues as a condition of employment,” despite never signing any document authorizing dues payment.
Her complaint to the Kentucky Labor Cabinet recounts that she first submitted a letter to union officials in August 2021 exercising her right to end her union membership and all dues deductions to the union. A union agent rejected her request, alleging that it would only be accepted within a so-called “escape period” created by union officials.
The complaint says Hernandez resubmitted her request in April 2022 on a date falling within the “escape period,” only to be redirected by union agents to USW Local 832 President Tara Purnhagen.
After Hernandez tendered her resignation to Purnhagen, “Ms. Purnhagen scolded and harassed me, accusing me of trying to convince my fellow co-workers to drop their union memberships,” Hernandez’s complaint says. Purnhagen also forbade Hernandez from discussing with her coworkers reasons to refrain from union membership.
“As of today’s filing, the company and the union have not reimbursed me for the money seized in union dues in violation of Kentucky law,” the complaint says.
Hernandez points out in the complaint “These acts violate [Kentucky’s Right to Work law] because it is unlawful to require employees, as a condition of employment, to become or remain members of a labor organization or to pay any money to a labor organization as a condition of employment.” Her federal charges argue that union officials’ actions also infringe on her rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which protects the right of workers to abstain from union activities if they choose, and not be retaliated against by union officials for exercising or advocating that right.
Current Gubernatorial Administration in Kentucky Has Deep Ties to Big Labor
The Kentucky Labor Cabinet Secretary is responsible under state law for investigating and prosecuting violations of Kentucky’s Right to Work protections. However, the current secretary, Jamie Link, was appointed by Gov. Andy Beshear, a noted opponent of Right to Work protections. Union bosses helped propel the Beshear Administration to power with well over $1 million last election cycle. It remains to be seen whether Link will carry out his duty to enforce the Right to Work law.
“Steelworkers union officials behave as if Kentucky’s Right to Work protections don’t exist, enforcing contracts that blatantly contradict the law and demanding years of illegal dues from rank-and-file workers like Ms. Hernandez in clear violation of their rights,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Secretary Link must prosecute this rank disregard for worker freedom and demonstrate that nobody is above the law, including politically-connected union bosses.”
