SEIU Faces Federal Prosecution for Violating Local Security Guards’ Rights
San Francisco, CA (February 6, 2015) – The San Francisco-based Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 24/7 is facing a federal prosecution for violating local security guards’ rights.
With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Universal Protection Service security guard Daniel Ozabuki filed an unfair labor practice charge for himself and seven other guards against the union alleging a litany of rights abuses.
The guards are all employed by Universal Protection Service, which has been party to a monopoly bargaining agreement with Local 24/7 since the company took over for the previous security contractor, Guard Maintenance Services Corporation. Guard Maintenance Services also had a monopoly bargaining agreement with the union.
Because California lacks a Right to Work law making union membership and dues payments strictly voluntary, workers can be forced to pay union dues and fees as a condition of employment. However, under Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court precedent, workers who refrain from union membership can also refrain from paying for union politics and members-only events.
Ozabuki and at least four other security guards have refrained from union membership for several years. In February 2012, some of the then-Guard Maintenance Services workers reached a settlement with SEIU officials regarding an earlier round of charges. The settlement required that union officials allow nonmember workers to opt out of paying for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining.
However, since SEIU officials entered into a contract with Universal Protection, union officials have again forced the workers into full dues payments despite the workers’ repeated attempts to refrain.
Three additional workers have detailed how SEIU officials kept them in the dark about their right to refrain from formal union membership and full dues payments.
The NLRB now has found merit to the workers’ charges and issued a complaint against the SEIU officials.
«SEIU bosses are resorting to deception to force workers into full dues paying union ranks,» said Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. «The best solution to break the SEIU bosses’ pattern of rights abuses is for California to enact a Right to Work law making union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary.»
Federal Settlement Awards Johnson Controls Worker Six Months of Illegally-Seized Union Confiscations
Federal Settlement Awards Johnson Controls Worker Six Months of Illegally-Seized Union Confiscations
Case underscores needs for Right to Work protections
Sycamore, IL (February 6, 2015) – A local Johnson Controls, Inc. worker has won a federal settlement from the United Auto Workers (UAW) union hierarchy and the company for violating his right to refrain from paying union dues and fees used for union officials’ politics.
The settlement comes in the wake of federal charges Johnson Controls employee Thomas Hayden filed with legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
Hayden, who has exercised his right under federal labor law to refrain from formal union membership, must accept the exclusive representation of UAW, and its Local 1268, union officials. Because Illinois does not have Right to Work protections for workers, nonmember workers like Hayden can be forced to pay a part of union dues and fees.
NRTW Praises Rauner Executive Action, Offers Free Legal Aid to Illinois State Employees
NRTW Praises Rauner Executive Action, Offers Free Legal Aid to Illinois State Employees
Foundation has long history of assisting public employees seeking to refrain from union membership and dues payments
Washington, DC (February 10, 2015) – The National Right to Work Foundation is offering free legal aid to public employees seeking to exercise their right to refrain from paying union dues or fees that may result from Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner’s newly-issued executive order.
Governor Rauner issued an executive order late Monday that instructs all state agencies to put in escrow, pending the outcome of a federal court lawsuit the Governor filed the same day, all forced union-fee deductions from nonmember state employees’ wages required by Illinois’ public-sector labor relations statute. The Governor’s lawsuit asks that a judgment be entered declaring unconstitutional the provisions of state collective bargaining agreements that require nonmember state employees to pay union fees, a judgment that would effectively grant those workers Right to Work protections.
The National Right to Work Foundation has a long history of assisting employees seeking to exercise their Right to Work rights, most recently under newly enacted Right to Work provisions in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan. Foundation attorneys also provided free legal representation to Illinois home-based personal care providers who, under executive orders issued by former Governors Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn, were forced to pay union dues or fees against their will. In that case, Harris v. Quinn, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Illinois scheme, ruling that individuals who indirectly receive state subsidies based on their clientele cannot be forced to pay compulsory union fees.
Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation, issued the following statement:
Click here to read the full release.«Governor Rauner’s actions may give Illinois public employees the Right to Work protections they so desperately need and deserve. These are bold steps to protect Illinois state employees’ rights not to pay tribute to union bosses as a condition of working as public servants.
«Unfortunately, union officials won’t give up their forced dues power easily. In addition to fighting Governor Rauner in court, it won’t be surprising to see them make it difficult for workers to exercise their rights. State employees who try to exercise those rights may encounter stonewalling, intimidation, or harassment at the hands of union officials.
Worker Advocate Files Federal Court Briefs Challenging Obama Labor Board’s Ambush Election Rules
Worker Advocate Files Federal Court Briefs Challenging Obama Labor Board’s Ambush Election Rules
In two court challenges to NLRB’s recycled biased rules, Foundation argues rules allow union bosses to ambush workers into Big Labor’s forced-dues-paying ranks
Washington, DC (February 12, 2015) – The National Right to Work Foundation has filed briefs in two federal courts challenging the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) recently-enacted regulations that will further give union organizers the upper hand over independent-minded employees during unionization campaigns.
The rules are designed to dramatically shorten the time individual workers have to share information with their coworkers about the effects of unionization. The regulations also require employers to hand over workers’ private information to union organizers, including their phone numbers and email addresses.
Teenage Grocery Clerk Wins Federal Case Against Grocery Union Officials Who Violated His Rights
Teenage Grocery Clerk Wins Federal Case Against Grocery Union Officials Who Violated His Rights
Union officials illegally threatened to have him fired for not joining and paying full dues
San Diego, CA (February 24, 2015) – With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a teenage part-time Ralphs Grocery clerk has won a federal ruling against a local grocery union for violating his workplace rights.
The teenager filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 135 union after union officials provided him in July 2013, with a membership packet that illegally stated that new hires must join the union and pay full union dues as a condition of their employment.
The teenager eventually learned about his right to refrain from full dues paying union membership and made multiple inquiries about resigning his union membership and paying reduced dues with UFCW Local 135 officials. His multiple requests were denied, stonewalled, or ignored.
Shell Oil Refinery Worker Files Federal Charge in Wake of Steelworker Union Strike Intimidation
Shell Oil Refinery Worker Files Federal Charge in Wake of Steelworker Union Strike Intimidation
Union officials threatening workers who refused to abandon their jobs
Houston, TX (February 24, 2015) – As the highly-publicized United Steelworker (USW) union-instigated strike against oil refineries continues, a Shell Oil Company refinery worker has filed a federal charge against a local Steelworker union for intimidating workers for refusing to abandon their jobs.
With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Joseph Smith of Friendswood, Texas filed the unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
At Smith’s plant in Deer Park, roughly 150 of the approximately 800-large workforce have continued to work during the strike, with many resigning their membership in the USW Local 13-1 union, as is their right under federal labor law and Texas’ popular Right to Work law. As the stream of workers resigning union membership and returning to work grows every day, it was reported that USW Local 13-1 union officials turned off their fax machine in an attempt to stop workers from exercising their right to resign and return to work.
Former Seasonal UPS Employee Wins Settlement from Company after Illegal Firing
Former Seasonal UPS Employee Wins Settlement from Company after Illegal Firing
Company sent worker packing for trying to exercise his right not to join the Teamster union guaranteed by Indiana’s popular Right to Work law
Indianapolis, IN (March 2, 2015) – A former seasonal Indianapolis-area UPS (NYSE: UPS) worker has settled with the company after filing unfair labor practice charges against UPS with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Avon resident Dale Thrasher filed the charges with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys after UPS refused to hire him in retaliation for declining to join the Teamsters union during the company’s orientation.
Thrasher has been a seasonal employee for UPS for the past several years. In November 2014, while attending a UPS driver orientation, company officials told all potential employees that they were required to join the union as a condition of employment.
Worker Advocate Urges Supreme Court to Take Case to Overturn Government Union Bosses Forced Dues Powers
Worker Advocate Urges Supreme Court to Take Case to Overturn Government Union Bosses Forced Dues Powers
Case builds on Foundation-won Supreme Court precedents
Washington, DC (March 2, 2015) – National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys have filed a «friend of the Court» brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, urging it to hear a challenge to public-sector union officials’ power to force America’s civil servants into dues-paying ranks. Foundation attorneys filed the brief late Friday in support of the challenge, titled Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, brought by ten California teachers supported by the Center for Individual Rights.
Nearly 40 years ago, the Court ruled in the Foundation’s Abood v. Detroit Board of Education case that public-sector workers can be compelled to pay union fees as a condition of employment, but have a constitutional right to refrain from the part used for union political and members-only activities. Since then, National Right to Work Foundation-assisted workers have repeatedly challenged government union officials’ power to force public employees into union fee payments as a job condition.
Worker Advocate to Testify before Congress on the Dangers of the NLRB’s New Ambush Election Rules
Worker Advocate to Testify before Congress on the Dangers of the NLRB’s New Ambush Election Rules
Foundation staff attorney explains how rule changes undermine workers’ rights
Washington, DC (March 3, 2015) – Tomorrow morning, National Right to Work Foundation staff attorney Glenn Taubman will testify before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions on the dangers of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) recently-enacted regulations that will further give union organizers the upper hand over independent-minded employees during unionization campaigns.
The Subcommittee, which is chaired by Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), will focus on a series of election rule changes designed to dramatically shorten the time individual workers have to share information with their coworkers about the effects of unionization. The regulations also require employers to hand over workers’ private information to union organizers, including their phone numbers and email addresses.
Taubman, a veteran Foundation staff attorney, will contend that dramatically shortening the period before unionization elections will hurt workers’ ability to cast an informed vote.
More Oil Refinery Workers File Federal Charge in Response to Steelworker Union Strike Intimidation
More Oil Refinery Workers File Federal Charge in Response to Steelworker Union Strike Intimidation
Union officials threatening workers who exercise their rights to continue working during union boss-ordered strike
Houston, TX (March 4, 2015) – In the wake of a recent federal charge filed against a local Steelworker union for intimidating Shell oil workers for refusing to abandon their jobs during the ongoing, highly-publicized United Steelworker (USW) union-instigated strike, three additional Houston-based oil refinery workers have filed a federal charge against the union.
With free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, LyondellBasell Industries employees Yvonne Hendrix, Richard Jackson, and Kyle MacDonnell filed the unfair labor practice charge Monday with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
The charge alleges that USW Local 13-227 union officials are resorting to harassing, coercing, and threatening workers for refusing to abandon their jobs. Over the course of several meetings, a USW Local 13-227 union official has threatened workers who continue to work during the strike with job termination and other retaliation. Further, USW Local 13-227 union officials have allowed a union Facebook page to be used to communicate threats against workers who continue to work during the strike, and against employees who are contemplating returning to work.
