Foundation-Backed Workers Notch Victories Over Dues-Hungry UAW Bosses
The following article is from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation’s bi-monthly Foundation Action Newsletter, July/August 2023 edition. To view other editions of Foundation Action or to sign up for a free subscription, click here.
UAW caught using threats and coercion to illegally seize workers’ dues
Ford employee Shiphrah Green excoriated UAW bosses in the Louisville Courier Journal over their blatant disregard for her rights. Foundation attorneys are helping her and others battle the notoriously corrupt union.
LOUISVILLE, KY – United Auto Workers (UAW) union officials have a well-deserved reputation for looking out for their own interests while throwing rank-and-file workers under the bus. The most prominent recent example is the corruption and embezzlement scandal, in which federal investigators revealed that UAW officials had siphoned millions of dollars in workers’ money to fund opulent golf vacations in luxury condos and private villas, spa and amusement park visits, $60,000 cigar-buying sprees, and much more.
But the federal corruption probe that led to eleven top UAW bosses pleading guilty, including former union presidents Gary Jones and Dennis Williams, is hardly the only time greedy UAW bosses abused their government-granted monopoly bargaining powers.
In a series of recent cases brought by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys against the UAW, workers are utilizing the Foundation’s free legal aid to vindicate their rights in the face of illegal dues demands by UAW officials.
Foundation-won Settlements Force UAW to Return Money to KY, IA Workers
Shiphrah Green, an employee of Ford Motor Company’s Louisville Assembly Plant, prevailed over UAW Local 862 bosses with free Foundation legal aid in April. UAW bosses were forced to settle and return money they had unlawfully taken from Green’s pay.
Green’s federal charges against the union maintained not only that UAW officials had made her jump through unnecessary hoops to exercise her right to cut off union dues, but also that UAW bosses made threats against her job when she tried to resign, with one union official warning her “if it were up to me, you’d lose your job for leaving the union.” Green’s settlement also forced UAW officials to refrain from such illegal threats in the future.
Meanwhile in Iowa, four employees of air filter manufacturer Donaldson won a recent settlement in which UAW officials were required to return over $1,000 in illegally-seized dues.
In each Donaldson worker’s case, UAW bosses had either refused to stop dues deductions despite producing no original documentation showing the workers had consented to such deductions in the first place, or had kept seizing money after an employee resigned union membership and revoked authorization to deduct dues, which should have been effective in stopping the flow of dues.
Because Ms. Green and the Donaldson workers reside in Right to Work states, the Foundation-won cases mean they will be free from all union financial support going forward.
Philly Public Defender Hits UAW with Charges
Even in non-Right to Work states where union officials have the power to compel workers to pay some fees under threat of termination, UAW bosses still go far beyond what is legal in their greedy forced-dues demands.
For example, Foundation staff attorneys recently filed a case for Philadelphia public defender Brunilda Vargas. Vargas, a vocal opponent of the UAW’s unionization drive, was told by UAW organizers that the union would reduce her and her coworkers’ wages if they did not grant the union the power to automatically deduct union dues directly from their paychecks.
Not only is the threat illegal, but further, employees can never be required to authorize automatic dues deductions from their paychecks under long-established federal law. This is true even in a state like Pennsylvania where workers lack the protection of a Right to Work law. Vargas’ charge, filed in June, is now being investigated.
“American workers likely have a plethora of reasons for wanting nothing to do with UAW union officials, including but not limited to the dizzying corruption in the union that has led to so many union officials going to prison,” commented National Right to Work Foundation Vice President Patrick Semmens. “As Foundation attorneys have experienced, UAW officials will often resort to clearly illegal methods to squeeze money out of dissenting workers in violation of federal law.”
“Union bosses who cannot convince workers to pay union dues voluntarily should not be allowed to seize union dues under threat of termination,” Semmens added.
Virginia, Kentucky Workers Slam Union Officials with Charges for Illegal Dues Deductions
The following article is from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation’s bi-monthly Foundation Action Newsletter, January/February 2023 edition. To view other editions of Foundation Action or to sign up for a free subscription, click here.
Union bosses seized full dues over employees’ clear objections, despite state Right to Work laws
“[I]t is time union officials accept that ‘no means no,’” said Buitoni employee Steven Ricketts, who is fighting to stop all dues as provided by Virginia’s Right to Work law.
DANVILLE, VA – For workers under the protection of Right to Work laws, union membership and financial support are supposed to be strictly voluntary. However, as recent cases brought with Foundation legal aid for workers in Kentucky and Virginia demonstrate, even in the 27 states that currently have Right to Work laws, union bosses will often attempt to illegally seize dues over workers’ objections.
“Living in Right to Work Virginia, it is outrageous that we need to take legal action just to stop union dues from being seized against our will,” commented Steven Ricketts, one of two employees at Buitoni Food Company who recently filed charges against United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9555. “I don’t want my money supporting the United Steelworkers union, and it is time union officials accept that ‘no means no’ when a worker resigns from the union and revokes their dues authorization.”
Ricketts and fellow employee Donald Hale each hand-delivered letters to both USW union officials and to their employer, formally resigning their union memberships and revoking their dues check-off authorizations.
Steelworkers Bosses Ignore 75-Year-Old Virginia Right to Work Law
After the workers’ letters were delivered, dues deductions briefly stopped only to quickly resume. In the case of Ricketts, Buitoni Food Company not only restarted union dues deductions but also deducted double the dues amount in a subsequent paycheck. Deductions from Mr. Hale’s paycheck also resumed without his authorization after a short period.
Mr. Ricketts sent an email to the company’s human resources department after the dues seizures restarted and was told to contact union officials about it. Each employee sent another letter to the United Steelworkers union, specifically requesting copies of their dues check-off authorizations. However, money continues to be deducted without their consent and without the union officials producing copies of the authorizations that are legally required before any such deductions can occur.
Eventually the workers filed unfair labor practice charges against both the USW and their employer for their respective roles in the unauthorized union dues deductions.
Regarding the Foundationbacked charges, Hale noted: “I’m grateful for the National Right to Work Foundation assistance in enforcing my legal rights, but it really shouldn’t take a federal case to cease the collection of union dues.”
Meanwhile in neighboring Kentucky, Shiphrah Green, who works at Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant, filed similar charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the United Automobile Workers (UAW) Local 862 union, as well as the UAW international union and Ford, for illegal union dues deductions.
Kentucky Autoworker Hits UAW Union with Federal Charges
Green notified both Ford and UAW union officials in April 2022 that she was resigning her union membership and cutting off all union dues deductions from her wages, as is her right under Kentucky’s Right to Work law. Instead of honoring her request, Green instead received an email from UAW Local 862’s president notifying her that Green needed to be shown the allegedly “correct” method to leave the union.
During a subsequent meeting with union officials at the UAW union hall, UAW officials subjected Green to interrogation about why she wanted to leave the union, and also demanded she sign a letter listing “benefits” Green would supposedly forgo if she went through with exiting the union. Longstanding NLRB precedent makes such restrictions on resignation illegal, as was the UAW Local 862 president’s coercive statement to Green that “if it were up to me, you’d lose your job for leaving the union.”
Despite Green’s resignation and requests to cut off union dues, UAW and Ford did not stop dues deductions. While Green continued trying to get Ford management to end the dues deductions, her efforts proved futile, as Ford officials gave her several confusing responses and even told her that she could only cease dues deductions in February 2023, even though the previously authorized dues deduction document could be revoked at will.
Finally, after getting the runaround from both Ford and the UAW, Green filed charges with the NLRB in October using free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation. As this issue went to print, Labor Board regional officials were conducting an investigation to see if Ford and the union should be prosecuted for illegal dues seizures.
Foundation Attorneys Play Essential Role in Limiting Union Boss Power
“As thousands of Foundation cases have demonstrated — whether in Right to Work states or forceddues jurisdictions, or whether litigated for government employees or private sector workers — limits on union bosses’ power to seize money from workers mean little if they aren’t enforced,” commented National Right to Work Foundation Vice President Patrick Semmens.
“Virginia has had a Right to Work law on the books for over 75 years, while Kentucky’s Right to Work law is barely over five years old, but in both commonwealths, union bosses are illegally seizing union dues,” added Semmens. “These cases show why defending and enforcing workers’ Right to Work protections has been and will remain a top priority of the Foundation.”
Louisville Ford Assembly Plant Worker Slams UAW Union with Federal Charges for Seizing Money from Her Paycheck Illegally
Charge detailing violation of employee’s rights comes after multiple top UAW chiefs have been sentenced to prison for widespread corruption and embezzlement of workers’ dues money
Louisville, KY (October 27, 2022) – Shiphrah Green, an employee at Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant, has filed federal charges against the United Automobile Workers (UAW) Local 862 union at the plant. Her charges contend that union officials are violating her rights by seizing dues money from her paycheck after she resigned her membership and requested a stop to all dues. Green, who is represented for free by National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys, also hit Ford with federal charges for their officials’ role in the unlawful deduction of union dues.
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 9 in Cincinnati will now investigate Green’s charges. The charges detail UAW and Ford officials forcing Green to navigate several unnecessary and unlawful steps to end her financial support for the union. They even state that the Local 862 president made threatening comments regarding Green’s job just because she exercised this basic free choice right. To date, the charges state, Ford and the UAW have not stopped collecting full union dues from Green’s paycheck.
Green’s charges argue that both the UAW union and Ford infringed on her rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which protects American private sector employees’ right to refrain from any or all union activities. Additionally, Kentucky is a Right to Work state, meaning union officials are forbidden by state law from getting workers fired merely for refusal to join or financially support a union.
UAW Officials Block Employee from Exercising Basic Rights
According to her charges, Green sent correspondence to both UAW and Ford officials on April 21, 2022 informing them she was resigning her union membership and cutting off union dues deductions from her wages. Neither party granted her request, and Green instead received an email from UAW Local 862’s president notifying her that she needed to be shown the purportedly “correct” method to leave the union.
At a meeting with union officials at the UAW union hall on April 25, UAW officials forced Green to answer questions about why she wanted to leave the union. They also demanded she sign a letter listing “benefits” Green would supposedly forgo if she went through with exiting the union.
The charge contends that NLRB precedent prohibits requiring workers to sign such a document just so they can exercise their right to end their union membership and stop dues deductions. UAW Local 862’s president apparently went even further. According to the charge, he told Green “if it were up to me, you’d lose your job for leaving the union.”
As this chain of events was ongoing, Green was also trying to get Ford management to end the dues deductions. This also proved fruitless, as Ford officials gave her several confusing responses and even told her at one point that she could only cease dues deductions in February 2023 – even though the previously authorized dues deduction document stated it could be revoked at will.
The charges contend that Ford violated federal law by “continuing to take full union dues” from Green’s paycheck at union bosses’ behest even after she had requested that they stop, and that UAW Local 862 violated federal law by continuing to accept those illegally-seized dues, by “restricting her union membership resignation, and by making threatening comments that would chill an ordinary employee’s exercise of Section 7 rights.”
New Evidence of UAW Corruption Emerges After Top UAW Chiefs Receive Jail Sentences
Green’s charges come as the UAW union is still reeling from the effects of a years-long investigation by federal prosecutors into massive corruption within the union hierarchy. The probe, as of July 2022, has already resulted in convictions of at least 17 people, including two former UAW presidents and at least nine other UAW top officials. The convicted former UAW presidents, Gary Jones and Dennis Williams, were sentenced to a combined 49 months in prison.
UAW officials were convicted most notably of embezzling millions from the union’s dues-stocked coffers for luxury golf vacations, expensive liquor and cigarettes, steak dinners, amusement park tickets, and more.
“The past few years have shown how deep anti-worker corruption runs within the UAW hierarchy. Ms. Green’s case is just one more manifestation of a culture that clearly values the ability to siphon money from rank-and-file employees far above respecting employee rights,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Workers under UAW control in Kentucky should know that they have the right to cut off all union dues payments to union officials, and the right to end their memberships at will. Any obstacles created by union officials to hinder the exercise of these rights are illegal, and employees should reach out to Foundation staff attorneys for free legal aid if they encounter such roadblocks.”
