Winston-Salem, N.C. (June 30, 2004)<\/b> \u00af In a potentially precedent setting action, the Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has decided to prosecute the nation\u2019s 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 \u00absuspended recognition\u00bb of the union — but quickly backpedalled, stating that they would merely \u00abput everything on hold.\u00bb<\/p>\n
The NLRB\u2019s 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 \u201ccaptive audience speeches\u201d to coerce the plant\u2019s workers to sign union recognition cards pursuant to the so-called \u201cneutrality agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
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 \u201cexclusive representation\u201d power over roughly 1,100 of the company\u2019s employees.<\/p>\n
The illegal actions come after UAW union operatives pressured Freightliner, Thomas Built\u2019s parent company, to sign a so-called \u201cneutrality agreement\u201d that prohibits a traditional and less abusive secret ballot election process in favor of a coercive \u201ccard check\u201d campaign. Under the agreement, union organizers were given full access to employees\u2019 personal information and company facilities to browbeat workers into signing union recognition cards that were counted as \u201cvotes\u201d for unionization. Employees complained of \u201ccaptive audience\u201d speeches during which UAW officials coerced employees to sign cards.<\/p>\n
The NLRB will prosecute the UAW for use of these coercive \u201ccaptive audience\u201d 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 \u201ccard check\u201d coercive and invalid.<\/p>\n