Washington, DC (January 3, 2014) – The deadline passed yesterday for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to file petitions at the U.S. Supreme Court to appeal one or both federal appeals court decisions striking down a new Board rule that required virtually every private-sector employer in the country to post biased information about employee rights online and in the workplace.

The Board’s inaction lets stand two appeals courts’ victories won by the National Right to Work Foundation and other groups challenging the NLRB’s aggressive and unprecedented rule-making.

At the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, attorneys from the Foundation and other groups won a unanimous decision striking down the rule. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit also struck down the rule in a separate legal challenge filed by other groups.

The NLRB rule required employers who have never committed a violation or even been accused of unfair labor practices to post an incomplete notice about employee rights. The rule also stipulated that employers who did not comply would be guilty of violating federal labor law.

The rule provided no corresponding requirement to give employees information about how to exercise their rights to refrain from union membership and forced political activity, or to remove a union from their workplace.

Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation, issued the following statement reacting to the NLRB’s capitulation:

«By promulgating this sweeping new requirement, the NLRB clearly overstepped its statutory authority in a heavy-handed attempt to force more workers into forced unionism ranks. The NLRB’s rule would have required almost every job provider in America to post biased, one-sided notices about workers’ rights. Under the rule, Mom and Pop shops, small businesses, larger companies – even some religiously-affiliated organizations – would have been forced to comply.

«Eight federal judges in two federal appeals court circuits have considered the NLRB’s rule and all eight judges have found the rule to be unlawful in whole or in part. It appears the unanimous voice of the judiciary has forced the Obama Labor Board to back down from its attempt to empower union bosses yet again at the expense of the rights of employees and employers.»

Suffolk County, NY (January 14, 2014) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a local teacher has reached a settlement with two unions after union officials kept in the union treasury dues she paid that were supposed to have gone to charity.

Maureen Stavrakoglou is employed by the Brentwood School District, which requires all teachers to pay dues to the Brentwood Teachers Association (BTA) union and its state affiliate, the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) union, as a condition of employment. However, teachers with sincere religious objections to supporting a union can request to have their union dues redirected to a mutually agreed-upon charity.

In 2005, BTA and NYSUT union officials came to an agreement with Stavrakoglou that redirected all of her NYSUT dues to charity. After the agreement was finalized, Stavrakoglou asked union officials to redirect her dues for 2006-2007 to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The BTA’s president subsequently assured Stavrakoglou that her dues would be sent to the designated charities.

From 2006 to 2013, Stavrakoglou designated a new charity each year as the recipient of her union dues. However, at least two of the charities she chose – The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation – never received a donation from the union under Stavrakoglou’s name. A third charity, The NYC Firefighters’ Burn Center Foundation, only received Stavrakoglou’s donation after she called union officials to inquire about the status of her dues. After discovering that union officials were not following through on their promises, Stavrakoglou filed suit in Suffolk County Supreme Court in 2011.

Stavrakoglou’s settlement requires the unions to make up for every missed donation from 2006 to 2013, plus interest, to the charities she designated. The NYSUT union is also required to assign a staff attorney to oversee the charitable payment process and ensure Stavrakoglou’s future donations are made in a timely fashion.

“After assuring Maureen Stavrakoglou that they would respect her religious objections and redirect her dues to charity, teacher union bosses brazenly kept the money for themselves,” said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation.

“We’re happy to report that Mrs. Stavrakoglou’s donations will finally be honored,” continued Semmens. “However, this type of abuse will continue as long as unions are permitted to force employees to pay union dues just to get or keep a job. That’s why New York needs a Right to Work law, which would make the payment of union dues strictly voluntary.”

Suffolk County, NY (January 14, 2014) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a local teacher has reached a settlement with two unions after union officials kept in the union treasury dues she paid that were supposed to have gone to charity.

Maureen Stavrakoglou is employed by the Brentwood School District, which requires all teachers to pay dues to the Brentwood Teachers Association (BTA) union and its state affiliate, the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) union, as a condition of employment. However, teachers with sincere religious objections to supporting a union can request to have their union dues redirected to a mutually agreed-upon charity.

In 2005, BTA and NYSUT union officials came to an agreement with Stavrakoglou that redirected all of her NYSUT dues to charity. After the agreement was finalized, Stavrakoglou asked union officials to redirect her dues for 2006-2007 to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The BTA’s president subsequently assured Stavrakoglou that her dues would be sent to the designated charities.

From 2006 to 2013, Stavrakoglou designated a new charity each year as the recipient of her union dues. However, at least two of the charities she chose – The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation – never received a donation from the union under Stavrakoglou’s name. A third charity, The NYC Firefighters’ Burn Center Foundation, only received Stavrakoglou’s donation after she called union officials to inquire about the status of her dues. After discovering that union officials were not following through on their promises, Stavrakoglou filed suit in Suffolk County Supreme Court in 2011.

Stavrakoglou’s settlement requires the unions to make up for every missed donation from 2006 to 2013, plus interest, to the charities she designated. The NYSUT union is also required to assign a staff attorney to oversee the charitable payment process and ensure Stavrakoglou’s future donations are made in a timely fashion.

“After assuring Maureen Stavrakoglou that they would respect her religious objections and redirect her dues to charity, teacher union bosses brazenly kept the money for themselves,” said Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation.

“We’re happy to report that Mrs. Stavrakoglou’s donations will finally be honored,” continued Semmens. “However, this type of abuse will continue as long as unions are permitted to force employees to pay union dues just to get or keep a job. That’s why New York needs a Right to Work law, which would make the payment of union dues strictly voluntary.”

Crown Point, IN (January 14, 2014) – Two Indiana citizens have submitted an amicus curiae brief to defend Indiana’s Right to Work law from a union legal challenge pending in state court.

The two workers, Douglas Richards and David Brubaker, filed the brief with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys. The brief was filed together with the National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center.

The case is a lawsuit filed by the United Steelworker (USW) union that makes a number of dubious claims about Indiana’s recently-enacted Right to Work law, including the argument that unions have a right to force workers to pay for their unwanted services.

Both Richards and Brubaker are or were employed in workplaces where a forced dues contract was in place between their employers and the USW union before the Right to Work law was enacted. Consequently, both workers have been forced to pay USW union dues and fees just to keep their jobs, despite the fact neither belonged to the union nor sought the union’s so-called «representation.»

In the brief, Foundation staff attorneys point out that state Right to Work laws are protected under federal labor law. The workers also argue in their brief that the state’s Right to Work law protects workers’ human and civil rights to earn a living without being forced to join or financially support a private organization. The brief also lays out how every contested state Right to Work law has been upheld as constitutional.

Last month, two additional workers filed a similar brief rebutting a union-backed legal challenge brought by International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 150 officials. That suit is pending at the Indiana Supreme Court.

«Hoosier citizens want to make their voices heard against a frivolous union legal challenge to Indiana’s Right to Work law,» said Patrick Semmens, legal information director for the National Right to Work Foundation. «Workers shouldn’t be forced to join or pay tribute to a union just to keep a job, which is why we applaud these workers for standing up for their rights under Indiana’s Right to Work law.»

Indiana Workers File Brief in Support of State’s Right to Work Law

Hoosier citizens contest spurious union legal challenge

Crown Point, IN (January 14, 2014) – Two Indiana citizens have submitted an amicus curiae brief to defend Indiana’s Right to Work law from a union legal challenge pending in state court.

The two workers, Douglas Richards and David Brubaker, filed the brief with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys. The brief was filed together with the National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center.

The case is a lawsuit filed by the United Steelworker (USW) union that makes a number of dubious claims about Indiana’s recently-enacted Right to Work law, including the argument that unions have a right to force workers to pay for their unwanted services.

Click here to read the full release.

Foundation Requests Investigation of NLRB’s Conduct in Chattanooga Volkswagen Case

Leaked internal emails bring agency’s impartiality further into question

Washington, DC (January 29, 2014) – National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, led by former National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Member John Raudabaugh, have requested an official inquiry into the NLRB’s conduct in adjudicating several Chattanooga Volkswagen America workers’ charges against VW and the United Auto Worker (UAW) union during the on-going, highly-contentious UAW organizing campaign.

Foundation staff attorneys have asked the NLRB’s Inspector General to investigate the agency’s conduct during its processing of the workers’ unfair labor practice charges that the NLRB Division of Advice instructed the NLRB Regional Director in Atlanta to dismiss.

Click here to read the full release.

Local Transit Worker Wins Federal Settlement After Union Officials Misled and Ignored Worker to Pocket Extra Union Dues

Union officials refused to acknowledge worker’s request to exercise right to refrain from union dues payments

Mesa, AZ (January 30, 2014) – With the help of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a local transit worker has won a federal settlement after union officials violated his right to refrain from paying union dues or fees.

David Azbell worked as a bus driver for Veolia Transportation and then for First Transit, which took over Veolia Transportation’s contract with the city. In June 2013, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1433 union officials were considering calling a strike against the new company to pressure company management into entering a monopoly bargaining agreement with the union.

Unsatisfied with the ATU Local 1433 union officials’ so-called «representation,» Azbell hand-delivered a letter to a union official stating that under Arizona’s Right to Work law he was resigning his union membership and refraining from paying union dues. When Azbell submitted his letter of resignation, the union official told him that the union hierarchy would still continue to take union dues from his paychecks.

Click here to read the full release.

Worker Advocate Reacts to Volkswagen’s Request for NLRB Union Election

Unionization election reportedly scheduled for February 12

Washington, DC (February 3, 2014) – Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation, issued the following statement after the announcement today that Volkswagen America has petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a rapid-fire United Auto Workers (UAW) unionization election in its Chattanooga plant:

«We’re pleased that despite constant calls by UAW officials to be recognized as the workers’ monopoly bargaining representative via card check recognition, Volkswagen workers will instead be given a chance to vote on the matter in a secret-ballot election. A secret-ballot election is what Foundation-assisted workers were asking for all along.

«However, we are concerned about the existence of backroom deals cut between Volkswagen and UAW officials giving union organizers preferential access to the workers leading up to the election. We call on VW to give workers opposing the union equal access and also to release any agreements it has signed regarding what would happen if the UAW union takes monopoly bargaining power over the workplace, including agreements to impose a so-called works council on the employees.

«VW workers should be given all the facts before the election so that they can make an informed choice, and we will oppose efforts to stampede them or tilt the playing field.»

Click here to read the full release.

Today, an article on RealClearMarkets raises more questions regarding the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) conduct in the United Autoworker (UAW) union boss push to gain monopoly power over Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee:

What is unusual about this election for United Auto Workers representation?…

The speedy election was coordinated with the National Labor Relations Board, which was unusually cooperative in approving the election petition. Although the election was only nine days away, the board immediately agreed to set up an election during a three-day period. The NLRB must organize and supervise the election, and count the ballots. How odd that on February 3 the Board had time available from February 12 to 14 to do this, a big favor for the United Auto Workers.

Former NLRB board member John N. Raudabaugh, now a law professor, told me, "I have never seen such a quick election."

As you may recall, National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys are assisting several workers who challenged the UAW’s and VW’s coercive unionization tactics at the Chattanooga VW facility. After a three month investigation, the NLRB’s Division of Advice issued two memos instructing the NLRB Regional Director in Atlanta to dismiss the workers’ charges.

Moreover, NLRB staff in Washington, DC, hurriedly released the Division’s instructions to members of the press and did not release the memos to the workers’ Foundation staff attorneys.

A leaked email shows that the Regional Director in Atlanta questioned the propriety of the memos’ release to the media, contrary to longstanding NLRB practice.

Foundation attorneys are concerned that the NLRB’s hurried public release of memos favorable to VW and the UAW right before a high-profile election, and its approval of a quick-snap election within hours of VW requesting one, calls into question the agency’s impartiality in the workers’ cases.

Foundation staff attorneys have requested an official inquiry into the NLRB’s conduct in the case, and also filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the NLRB seeking full disclosure regarding the agency’s handling of the case and its contacts with UAW agents.

The NLRB’s actions in this case continue to raise questions about its impartiality going forward.

Washington, DC (January 21, 2013) – Tuesday morning, National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys will argue a case before the United States Supreme Court that will decide whether Illinois homecare providers can be forced into union ranks against their will.

The case, Harris v. Quinn, is a class-action lawsuit filed by Pam Harris and seven other Illinois care providers after Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed an executive order designating 4,500 individuals who offer in-home care to disabled persons as «public employees,» thus rendering them vulnerable to unwanted union organizing. However, the scheme only designates providers as public employees for the purposes of unionization, leaving the homecare recipients as the employers for all other aspects of the providers’ work.

As a result of Quinn’s order, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) organizers have been seeking to acquire monopoly bargaining control over this newly-created class of public employees.

Quinn’s executive order mirrored one issued by disgraced former Governor Blagojevich, which designated over 20,000 personal care providers as state workers solely for the purpose of forcing them into union ranks. Quinn then expanded Blagojevich’s directive to cover an additional 4,500 providers who were not included in the original order.

Several legal observers and pundits have referred to Harris as a «sleeper» case. At least 18 states have imposed schemes to unionize home-based personal care and childcare workers. This case could have significant ramifications of how the government determines what workers, who indirectly receive state subsidies based on their clientele, qualify as state employees. Foundation attorneys will argue that such schemes violate the providers’ First Amendment right to choose with whom they associate to petition the government.

Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation, issued the following statement:

«This scheme, which forces small business owners and even parents and grandparents taking care of children into union political association is a slap in the face of fundamental American principles we hold dear. The government does not have the power to force citizens to accept its handpicked political representation to lobby itself.

«Forcing homecare providers into union ranks just for the sake of lobbying is not only unconstitutional, but immoral. We hope the Court will agree and protect the rights of Pam Harris and tens of thousands of other care providers by striking down this constitutionally-dubious scheme.»