Pittsburgh, PA (December 8, 2009)<\/b> \u2013 A judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania ruled in favor of seven Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) employees, maintaining a permanent injunction against the Teamsters union and PTC for seizing forced union dues in violation of the employees\u2019 constitutional rights.<\/p>\n
\nWith free legal aid from staff attorneys at the National Right to Work Foundation, the seven Turnpike workers filed a federal lawsuit in 2007 against Teamsters Local 250, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), and the PTC. Exercising monopoly bargaining power over PTC employees, Local 250 officials may collect forced union dues from nonmembers \u2013 but only for expenses which union officials can prove are spent on collective bargaining.<\/p>\n
\nLast year, the District Court levied a permanent injunction against Local 250 from seizing forced dues from nonmembers until it complies with the due-process and adequate disclosure requirements in the Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson<\/i> and Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Association<\/i> line of U.S. Supreme Court cases. Charges must be verified by an independent auditor, and workers must have the opportunity to challenge the fee\u2019s basis.<\/p>\n
\nUnion officials asked U.S. District Court Judge Nora Barry Fischer to lift the injunction, but Fischer found that the union still had not complied with all of the constitutional requirements under Hudson<\/i> and Lehnert<\/i>. Specifically, Fischer held that the union\u2019s audit contained overly broad language concerning organizing, lobbying, and membership activities. Fischer also singled out Local 250\u2019s charges to nonmembers for \u00abprofessional fees,\u00bb including 100 percent of all legal expenses \u2013 meaning that union bosses were attempting to charge nonmembers the cost of defending its illegal actions against them.<\/p>\n
\n\u00abPennsylvania should adopt a Right to Work law so independent-minded employees do not have to jump through legal hoop after legal hoop just to find out what they are being charged for,\u00bb said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. \u00abIn the absence of such a protection, union bosses will continue to try to abuse employees\u2019 rights in their lust for more money and power.\u00bb
\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pittsburgh, PA (December 8, 2009)<\/b> \u2013 A judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania ruled in favor of seven Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) employees, maintaining a permanent injunction against the Teamsters union and PTC for seizing forced union dues in violation of the employees\u2019 constitutional rights.<\/p>\n
\nWith free legal aid from staff attorneys at the National Right to Work Foundation, the seven Turnpike workers filed a federal lawsuit in 2007 against Teamsters Local 250, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), and the PTC. Exercising monopoly bargaining power over PTC employees, Local 250 officials may collect forced union dues from nonmembers \u2013 but only for expenses which union officials can prove are spent on collective bargaining.<\/p>\n
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