7 Apr 2026

Windham Community Memorial Hospital Employees Vote Overwhelmingly to Remove AFT Union ‘Representation’

Posted in News Releases

Despite last-ditch effort by teacher union lawyers to overturn vote, over 300 hospital employees are officially union free

Willimantic, CT (April 7, 2026) – Employees at Windham Community Memorial Hospital are officially free from the unwanted “representation” of American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 5099 union officials. Following an initial delay, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certified the result, after an overwhelming majority of the Hospital’s workers voted to “decertify” the union in a February secret ballot vote.

The decertification effort was spearheaded by Windham Hospital employee Sara Doner, who received free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys during the decertification process.

NLRB Region 1 certified the election results, officially ending AFT union bosses’ exclusive monopoly representation of the Windham Community Memorial Hospital employees. The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the National Labor Relations Act, a task that includes administering elections to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions.

Days after the landslide 168-70 vote to remove the union, AFT filed objections with the NLRB, seeking to overturn the workers’ election result. However, AFT union officials soon reversed course and dropped their objections, perhaps recognizing the futility of their efforts to maintain monopoly control of the employees after the overwhelming statement sent by the one-sided result.

Connecticut is one of 24 states that lack Right to Work protections for workers, which means that prior to the decertification, AFT union bosses were empowered to impose monopoly bargaining contracts that force employees to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. By contrast, in Right to Work states, union membership and union financial support are strictly voluntary.

“Headed by longtime top boss Randi Weingarten, the AFT is best known for the divisive role union officials have played undermining student and taxpayer interests in the classrooms of public schools nationwide,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “While lesser known, the targets of AFT union boss coercion also includes thousands of healthcare providers.

“We are pleased to have been able to assist this group of hundreds of Windham Community Memorial employees as they exercise their legal right to send AFT union bosses packing, and we encourage anyone else – whether educator or healthcare worker – trapped under AFT control they oppose to reach out for legal aid,” Mix added.

4 Dec 2024

Bronx KIPP Charter School Educator Hits UFT Union Bosses with Federal Charges Detailing Illegal Threats, Dues Demands

Posted in News Releases

KIPP teachers have also petitioned federal labor board for vote to remove AFT-affiliated union from school

New York, NY (December 4, 2024) – Uriel Barrera, an educator at KIPP Academy Middle School in the Bronx, has hit United Federation of Teachers Local 2 (UFT, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, AFT) union officials with federal charges for illegally threatening teachers with the loss of existing benefits if they choose not to join the union, and for demanding dues payments from teachers with no legal authority to do so. Barrera filed unfair labor practice charges at National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 2 in New York with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law, which governs labor relations at many charter schools, including KIPP Academy Middle School. Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) forbids union officials from restricting workers’ ability to refrain from participating in union activities if they so choose, including by making threats. The NLRA also prohibits union officials from requiring workers to pay dues unless a union monopoly bargaining agreement has been finalized with their employer.

Because New York lacks Right to Work protections for its private sector workers, UFT union officials can seek contracts that require KIPP educators to pay union dues or fees as a condition of getting or keeping a job. In contrast, in Right to Work states, union membership and all union financial support are strictly voluntary. But in both Right to Work and non-Right to Work jurisdictions, union officials can still force workers who oppose the union to accept one-size-fits-all union contracts.

According to Barrera’s charge, in September a UFT official sent a mass email to KIPP employees containing “threatening statements misrepresenting, among other things, that certain important benefits (that employees were already getting from their employer) were dependent upon signing a union dues deduction authorization form.” The same email also implied that union dues were mandatory despite the absence of a monopoly bargaining agreement containing a clause imposing forced union dues. Seventy-five KIPP educators are under UFT union control, according to Barrera’s filing.

“UFT union officials are misleading my fellow teachers about our legal rights and causing confusion in the workplace,” Barrera commented. “This type of disrespectful behavior is exactly why a majority of my coworkers want this union gone, and why we should be able to hold the decertification election right away.”

AFT Bosses Recently Voted Out of St. Louis KIPP School

In addition to the unfair labor practice charges, Barrera and his coworkers currently have a union decertification petition against the union pending with the NLRB. The petition, which Barrera filed in May, contains well over the number of employee signatures required by NLRB rules to trigger a “decertification election,” in which a majority of employees in a work unit can vote to remove a union.

Barrera and his coworkers are not the first KIPP educators to seek Foundation legal aid in challenging AFT union power. In St. Louis, Robin Johnston and her coworkers at KIPP St. Louis High School successfully voted to remove AFT Local 420 union officials from their school after submitting a union decertification petition with Foundation assistance. St. Louis KIPP educators complained that AFT Local 420’s divisive strike order pushed union goals at the expense of student progress and was a main reason behind the decertification effort.

“AFT officials, with the radical Randi Weingarten as their leader, are no strangers to putting union boss control and influence ahead of the wellbeing of both students and teachers,” observed National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Mr. Barrera and his coworkers at KIPP Middle School in New York are only the latest victims of AFT officials’ coercive schemes.

“Granting union bosses forced-dues and monopoly bargaining powers creates problems in any workplace, but it’s especially insidious in schools, where union bosses can hold both teachers and students hostage to their demands,” Mix added. “These threats against teachers show exactly why the NLRB should promptly schedule the decertification election to allow these teachers an up or down vote to decide whether to expel the AFT from their school.”

30 May 2024

St. Louis KIPP Charter High School Educators’ Vote to Remove Unwanted AFT Union Bosses is Now Official

Posted in News Releases

Federal Labor Board has now certified majority decertification vote to end AFT union officials’ “representation” at the school

St. Louis, MO (May 30, 2024) – Teachers, advisors, nurses, and other employees at KIPP St. Louis High School are officially free of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 420 union. Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certified the results of the educators’ May 17 decertification vote in which a majority voted to end AFT union officials’ monopoly bargaining powers at the charter high school.

KIPP teacher Robin Johnston filed a petition to decertify the union on May 2 with NLRB Region 14 in St. Louis using free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. The petition included the signatures of enough employees at the school to trigger the decertification election, resulting in the 19-17 vote against the AFT.

Because Missouri lacks Right to Work protections for its private sector workers (which includes employees at public charter schools like KIPP), union officials have the legal privilege to enforce contracts that force workers to pay union dues or fees to get or keep their jobs. In contrast, in Right to Work states, union membership and union financial support are strictly voluntary.

However, in both Right to Work and non-Right to Work states, union officials in a unionized workplace are empowered by federal law to impose a union contract on all employees in the work unit, including those who oppose the union. The successful decertification vote at KIPP St. Louis High School strips AFT union officials of both their forced-dues and monopoly bargaining powers.

“AFT union officials never stood up for us and instead undermined our students’ success,” stated Johnston. “This was especially on display when union officials called a divisive strike to demand we abandon our classrooms and our students. I’m grateful for my colleagues who have decided to set our school on a better path without the union.”

The KIPP High School educators are not the only charter school employees who have removed unwanted unions with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation. In 2023 in San Diego, CA, employees of Gompers Preparatory Academy prevailed in 2023 after a nearly four-year effort to vote out the San Diego Education Association (SDEA) union, an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA).

“The decision by KIPP High School educators to remove the union from their school isn’t the first, nor will it be the last time charter school employees decide they are better off without teacher union officials,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “The fact is, if it were up to national teacher union bosses at the AFT and NEA, charter schools wouldn’t exist at all. So, it is hardly surprising that the educators at these schools, which provide an alternative to the public schools that are so often under union monopoly control, are choosing to kick out the union officials that oppose their very existence.”

14 May 2024

KIPP St. Louis Charter High School Educators to Vote This Week on Whether to Oust AFT Union Bosses

Posted in News Releases

Union decertification election will take place among wide swath of school employees, including teachers, advisors, administrative staff, and others

St. Louis, MO (May 14, 2024) – Teachers, advisors, nurses, and other employees at KIPP St. Louis High School will vote this week on whether to remove American Federation of Teachers (AFT) union officials from power at the school. The union decertification vote follows KIPP teacher Robin Johnston’s submission of a “decertification petition” earlier this month to National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 14 in St. Louis. Johnston filed the decertification petition with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation.

The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal labor law, which includes administering elections to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Johnston’s petition contains signatures from enough of her coworkers to trigger a decertification vote under NLRB rules.

Because Missouri lacks Right to Work protections for its private sector workers (which includes employees at public charter schools like KIPP), union officials have the legal privilege to enforce contracts that force workers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of getting or keeping a job. In contrast, in Right to Work states, union membership and union financial support are strictly voluntary.

However, in both Right to Work and non-Right to Work states, union officials in a unionized workplace are empowered by federal law to impose a union contract on all employees in the work unit, including those who oppose the union. A successful decertification vote strips union officials of both their forced-dues and monopoly bargaining powers.

Vote Set to Take Place May 17

“AFT union officials haven’t stood up for us,” commented Johnston. “I think the majority of my coworkers agree that they’ve only made it harder for us to help our students succeed, especially through a divisive strike order, and that’s a trend I hope we can reverse with this vote. We hope the election proceeds without delay and without interference from union officials.”

The NLRB has scheduled a vote to occur on Friday, May 17. According to Johnston’s petition, the vote will occur among “College and Career Advisors, English Language Learners, Leads, Lead Teachers, Learning Support Teachers, Mental health Professionals, School Nurses, Special Ed. Teachers, Specials Teachers, Speech Language Pathologists, Virtual Learning Facilitators, Behavior Support Specialists, High School Registrars, Long Term Subs, Office Coordinators, Paraprofessionals, Permanent Building Subs and Receptionists” at the school.

Foundation attorneys have recently aided other charter school educators in efforts to remove unwanted union officials, most recently in San Diego, CA, where employees of Gompers Preparatory Academy prevailed in 2023 after a nearly four-year effort to vote out the San Diego Education Association (SDEA) union, an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA).

“Top teacher union officials, including Randi Weingarten of the AFT and Becky Pringle of the NEA, seem to regularly make headlines for political radicalism and not for anything related to helping teachers, which seems to be a reality on the ground at KIPP St. Louis,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Ms. Johnston and her fellow educators join a growing number of workers across the country who are realizing that union boss agendas don’t align with what’s best for them, and Foundation attorneys are proud to help them exercise their right to vote away unwanted union control.”