27 Jan 2026

College Park MOM’s Organic Employees Slam Union Officials with Charges for Election Interference

Posted in News Releases

New filings detail that UFCW bosses cornered employee in bathroom and engaged in other intimidation tactics ahead of vote on forced-dues requirements

Washington, DC (January 27, 2026) – Nora Ricse, an employee of MOM’s Organic Market in College Park, MD, is asking a federal labor board to rerun a “deauthorization election” she and her colleagues requested to strip United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union bosses of their power to force workers to pay dues. In a brief filed with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, she charges that union officials interfered with the vote by subjecting MOM’s employees to intimidation and coercion to join the union in the lead-up to the election.

Although MOM’s employees voted nearly 5-to-1 to block the UFCW union from having forced-dues power, this was insufficient for Ricse’s effort to prevail because federal law provides that a majority of an entire work unit must vote to deauthorize a union. In contrast, only a majority of those participating in a vote are needed to bring a union into a workplace.

Ricse’s objections, filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), detail the same conduct that MOM’s employee J-quan Tingling is charging UFCW union officials with in unfair labor practice charges before the NLRB. Tingling, who is also receiving free Foundation legal aid, maintains in his charges that a UFCW union agent cornered him in a bathroom to coerce him into signing a union membership card. He also reports that UFCW operatives falsely told him that union membership is a condition of employment, and rebuffed his multiple requests to be left alone or to take the union documents home so he could at least read them. His charges state that he discussed with his coworkers the confrontations he had with union bosses.

“The concern that the Union official’s conduct compromised laboratory conditions and the ultimate integrity of the election is also heightened where, as here, there is a possibility that other employees” acted on the belief that union officials could carry out their threats, Ricse’s objections brief says.

Ricse’s filing cites other NLRB cases in which election results were set aside because union officials threatened workers into signing union cards, and exhorts the Board to administer a rerun election. “The Board would seriously prejudice [Ricse] and her colleagues by denying them access to a free and fair election within this context,” the brief says.

UFCW Officials Imposed Contract Over Workers’ Objections

MOM’s Organic employees pushed for a deauthorization vote after UFCW Local 400 union officials ratified a contract that binds all employees at MOM’s Organic – even though a majority of the employees voted to reject that contract. In doing this, union officials cited the UFCW’s constitution, which apparently requires union chiefs to ratify a contract over workers’ objections if less than two-thirds of the workers authorize a strike.

Maryland lacks Right to Work protections for employees, meaning union officials can impose contracts that require workers to pay dues or be fired. While UFCW officials claim that they won’t enforce their forced-dues privileges, the union’s contract contains a clause that makes paying union dues a condition of employment.

“I and many of my colleagues at MOM’s don’t support UFCW union officials, but we are compelled by law to deal with them,” commented Ricse ahead of the vote. “We are requesting this vote so we can ensure our hard-earned money doesn’t flow into union bosses’ pockets, regardless of what they’ve told us is going to happen.”

Workers’ Opposition to UFCW Actions Continues

Ricse’s and Tingling’s actions concerning the deauthorization election are just the latest skirmish in an ongoing conflict between UFCW union officials and MOM’s Organic employees. In November 2024, College Park MOM’s employees requested a vote to remove the union entirely (also known as a “decertification vote”).

“If MOM’s Organic employees needed any reason to believe that UFCW officials won’t honor their promise to refrain from imposing forced dues on the whole workplace, the intimidation tactics detailed in these employee charges more than fit the bill,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “It’s now clearer than ever that if MOM’s Organic employees want any chance to escape from being forced to pay dues to the UFCW hierarchy, they need to be able to vote in a free and fair deauthorization election.

“If UFCW union officials really wanted workers to have a free choice on whether to pay dues, they should have supported – not opposed – the workers’ effort to have a deauthorization vote,” Mix added. “But the UFCW’s priorities appear to be power and control, as shown by these new charges and the UFCW’s constitution, which requires union bosses to ratify forced-dues contracts over the objections of workers.”

13 Oct 2025

Cincinnati-Area Kroger Worker Secures Victory Against Illegal Union Dues Deductions

Posted in Newsletter Articles

The following article is from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation’s bi-monthly Foundation Action Newsletter, May/June 2025 edition. To view other editions of Foundation Action or to sign up for a free subscription, click here.

After legal win, grocery employee based near Cincinnati finds job in nearby Right to Work Kentucky to escape forced dues

Northern Kentucky Cincinnati Ohio

Northern Kentucky (foreground) might be just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, OH, but the difference in worker freedom is stark. Without Right to Work, forced dues abuses are rampant compared to Right to Work Kentucky.

CINCINNATI, OH – In a win for employee freedom, James Carroll, a Kroger employee based near Cincinnati, has secured victory in his federal case against United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 75 and Kroger. The win comes after Carroll challenged the union and his employer for unlawfully deducting union dues from his paycheck and threatening him with termination for refusing to sign an illegal dues deduction form.

Carroll, with free legal support from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 9 in Cincinnati. His case exposed the UFCW’s use of an unlawful “dual-purpose” membership form, which combines union membership and dues deduction authorization into a single signature. Under established Supreme Court legal precedents, workers have the right to refrain from formal union membership, and any dues deduction authorizations must be voluntary and separate from membership agreements.

In order to avoid further prosecution, Kroger and UFCW entered into a settlement that requires them to reimburse Carroll for the illegally seized dues and publicly post a notice informing other employees of their rights.

But Carroll didn’t stop there. To protect himself from future union coercion, he secured a transfer to a Kroger store in Right to Work Kentucky. Unlike Ohio, where workers can be forced to pay union fees even as non-members, Kentucky’s Right to Work law ensures that all union payments are voluntary, shielding Carroll from further threats that he pay up or face termination.

This case challenging the UFCW’s forced dues abuse of grocery employees isn’t an isolated incident. In 2023, Houston-area Kroger employee Jessica Haefner, also aided by Foundation attorneys, filed charges against UFCW for using a dual-purpose form and altering her response to falsely indicate consent for dues deductions.

More recently, in 2024, Portland grocery worker Reegin Schaffer won a case against UFCW after union officials ignored her resignation request during a strike and retaliated by attempting to fine her for working.

Another Worker Flees to the Freedom of Right to Work

“We are pleased with this legal win for Mr. Carroll, and that he is now completely free of union bosses’ forced-dues demands in Right to Work Kentucky,” commented National Right to Work Foundation Vice President and Legal Director William Messenger.

“Unfortunately most workers employed in forced dues states don’t have the option to commute to a job in a Right to Work state, which is why workers everywhere need the protection of Right to Work laws.”

15 Sep 2025

Louisiana Poultry Employee Submits Second Petition Seeking Vote to Oust UFCW Union

Posted in News Releases

Workers’ first petition stalled by non-statutory NLRB ‘contract bar’ protecting unions’ control over workers

Hammond, LA (September 15, 2025) – Coty Hally, an employee of Wayne Sanderson Farms’ Hammond processing facility, has just filed a second petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking a union “decertification” election to remove United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 455 union officials from the workplace. Hally’s earlier petition in June of this year was dismissed by an NLRB Regional Director, which ruled that under its non-statutory “contract bar” policy no employee-requested decertification votes may occur for up to three years after a union contract is imposed. This occurred despite Hally having never seen the contract extension agreement that barred his petition.

Hally’s current petition, filed outside the contract bar’s arbitrary restriction, is supported by over 50% of his facility’s 550-person unit. The unit includes all production and maintenance employees, including truck drivers, at the poultry facility in Hammond, LA. Hally received free legal aid in filing both petitions from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

Concurrent with his two filed petitions, Hally also submitted a Request for Review to the NLRB, arguing that the agency should eliminate the three-year contract bar entirely, as it has no basis in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the NLRA and adjudicating disputes between employers, unions, and individual employees. Under the text of the NLRA, the NLRB can only reject a worker’s petition for an election if another election has already taken place in the past 12 months. Hally’s Request for Review points out that the contract bar is nowhere to be found in the text of the NLRA. It explains that the doctrine was instead made up by unelected NLRB bureaucrats, who overstepped their legal authority by adopting policies that are detrimental to the rights of workers the Board is tasked with defending.

The contract bar has prevented Hally and his coworkers from having an NLRB-supervised secret ballot election for months, protecting union officials from being held accountable by workers that do not recognize them as their “representatives.” The NLRB’s contract bar places undue burdens on workers’ right to free choice.

“A system that necessitates the filing of two separate petitions, signed by a majority of a workplace, seeking to remove one union is not only a broken system, but one that actively works against the best interests of employees,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Big Labor is not content with the special privileges granted to them by the law. Union bosses have also seen to it that they get a protected status from a federal agency that ought to be neutral and uncompromised.

“The NLRB needs to re-establish its impartiality in dealing with the disputes of American workers by doing away with the ‘contract bar’ and other non-statutory ‘bars’ that only serve to protect incumbent union bosses’ power over workplaces where they are opposed by most workers,” Mix added.

8 Sep 2025

King Soopers Employees Hit Union Officials with New Federal Charges for Illegal Strike Fine Threats

Posted in News Releases

Charge: UFCW Local 7 once again violating federal law with fines against non-union employees who wouldn’t abide by a union boss-ordered strike

Denver, CO (September 8, 2025) – Two King Soopers grocery workers have filed federal charges against the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 union in response to union officials illegally threatening to fine the workers, who chose to exercise their right to work during a strike. These cases, filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), follow a series of similar charges against UFCW union officials for issuing retaliatory fines against King Soopers employees in 2022. Both employees are receiving free legal aid from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys.

According to the charges, Local 7 union bosses illegally retaliated against Ryan Lamb and Lucas Martin by assessing presumptive fines and scheduling “trials” for each of them, despite the union having no authority to punish non-members. The charges note that attempts to discipline the workers for post-resignation conduct violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

Union-Ordered Strikes Don’t Mean Workers Have to Stop Providing for Their Families

UFCW officials demanded that workers strike against King Soopers grocery stores for more than a week in February 2025, affecting more than 10,000 employees. In response to the high profile strike, the Foundation issued a legal notice informing the impacted workers of their rights that union officials often hide, including the right to continue working to support their families.

“Despite often-misleading language in union contracts, no employee is actually required to be a member of a union,” the notice reads. “And if an employee is not a member of a union, union officials have no power to fine or discipline him or her.”

In the cases of Lamb and Martin, both employees ensured they took the proper actions to avoid being legally subjected to internal “union discipline.” In other cases, union officials illegally attempted to issue ruinous fines against workers who declined to participate in union strike actions, with some fines reaching tens of thousands of dollars per employee.

“Union officials shouldn’t be telling me I can’t earn a living just so they can make a point,” commented Lamb. “We have the right to keep working and not abide by their rules, and it’s ridiculous that the union officials think they can punish us for exercising that right,” added Martin.

Repeat-Offender Union Has a History of Ignoring Workers’ Rights

This isn’t the first time UFCW Local 7 officials are alleged to have violated federal law. In 2022, after the UFCW ordered a strike, several employees filed charges against Local 7 officials for hitting them with fines despite being non-union members.

In two cases where the employees received free legal aid from Foundation staff attorneys, union enforcers backed down from their fines rather than face discipline from the NLRB.

“Once again UFCW bosses are demonstrating their willingness to steamroll the legal rights of rank-and-file workers, just because those workers won’t toe the union line,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Kings Soopers employees have beaten back these illegal fines in the past, and while it shouldn’t take a team of attorneys to ensure workers can exercise their legal rights, we are dedicated to ensuring all King Soopers workers can freely make the choice that is best for them.”

2 Sep 2025

Missouri Shangri-La Dispensary Workers Officially Free of Unwanted UFCW Union Boss “Representation”

Posted in News Releases

Labor Board certifies workers’ victory in case to remove UFCW after union officials disclaim representation and walk away

Columbia, MO (September 2, 2025) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has just issued an order that officially removes United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 655 as the exclusive “representative” of a unit of Shangri-La dispensary workers. The order makes official the workers’ victory in their legal effort to remove UFCW union officials from their workplace.

The case started when Travis Hierholzer, with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, filed his petition with the NLRB requesting a “decertification” election to remove UFCW union bosses at his workplace. Hierholzer’s petition was signed by nearly all of his fellow workers at the dispensary. The filing of the petition triggered an election process to determine whether the UFCW would remain the dispensary workers’ exclusive representative.

The NLRB is the federal agency tasked with enforcing federal labor law and with adjudicating disputes between employers, unions, and individual workers. Workers are able to initiate an election administered by the NLRB if their petition gathers the signatures of 30% or more of their fellow employees.

The election was close to being scheduled in September among all full-time and regular part-time patient consultants, patient consultant supervisors, and inventory specialists employed at the Columbia, MO, dispensary. However, rather than proceed with the election, UFCW union bosses apparently decided to avoid the embarrassment of a nearly unanimous vote by workers against them, instead “disclaiming” their status and removing the union as the dispensary’s so-called representative.

Missouri is one of the 24 states without Right to Work protections that make union affiliation and dues payment fully voluntary, meaning Hierholzer and his coworkers could have been forced to pay dues or fees to UFCW union officials or else be fired. Now that the union has been officially decertified, union officials lack the authority to impose a forced-dues requirement on the employees.

“Workers across the country, and especially in states where union bosses can force them to pay dues or else be fired, continue to exercise their legal right to free themselves of unwanted union representation,” stated National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “The National Right to Work Foundation will continue to stand up for American workers wherever they may be, by providing free legal aid to help defend their rights and remove unwelcome union bosses from their workplace.”

23 Jul 2025

Louisiana Poultry Employee Challenges Federal Labor Policy Preventing Coworkers From Voting Out UFCW Union

Posted in News Releases

Worker submitted petition in which over half of his colleagues demanded vote to remove union, but so-called ‘contract bar’ kept union in power

Hammond, LA (July 23, 2025) – Coty Hally, an employee of Wayne Sanderson Farms’ poultry facility in Hammond, LA, is asking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, DC, to grant him and his coworkers a chance to vote United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 455 union officials out of their workplace.

Hally is challenging a decision from an NLRB Regional Director that blocked the Wayne Sanderson workers from exercising their right to vote on the basis of the so-called “contract bar,” a non-statutory NLRB policy which immunizes union officials from removal (or “decertification”) efforts for the first three years of a union contract. Hally is receiving free legal aid in his case from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

Hally’s Request for Review argues the NLRB, the federal agency responsible for adjudicating disputes under federal labor law, should eliminate the “contract bar” entirely. “The contract-bar is a Board created limitation on employee statutory rights to seek an election and determine their own representative,” Hally’s Request for Review says. “It is not found in the text of the National Labor Relations Act [NLRA]…and it conflicts with the Act’s core purpose.”

“UFCW union officials have been dragging their feet and have not been negotiating good contracts for me and my coworkers,” Hally commented. “This union doesn’t represent us, and it’s ridiculous that the UFCW is manipulating this one dated NLRB policy to keep us trapped in the union, even though most of us have expressed interest in voting the union out. My colleagues and I – not union officials – should be deciding whether the union stays or goes.”

‘Contract Bar’ Policy Absent From Labor Statutes, Burdens Employee Free Choice

Hally’s Request for Review notes that he submitted a petition earlier this month in which over 50% of his 550-person unit demanded a vote to oust the UFCW. Normally NLRB rules only require a 30% “showing of interest” in order to trigger a union decertification vote, but even with this stronger support, “Region 15 dismissed Hally’s petition consistent with the Board’s contract-bar doctrine,” the Request for Review says.

In addition to pointing out that the contract bar policy appears nowhere in the NLRA and was instead the invention of biased NLRB decisions, Hally’s Request for Review contends the policy stifles worker freedom. “This bar contradicts the Act’s well-established ‘bedrock principles of employee free choice and majority rule’…because it grants monopoly bargaining status…even in the face of objective evidence proving the union has lost majority support,” the Request for Review says.

On top of that, NLRB decisions interpreting the “contract bar” rule have only made the rule more burdensome on employees’ free choice rights. A particularly egregious example mentioned in Hally’s Request for Review is the fact that even informal and unpublicized documents exchanged between management and union bosses without workers’ knowledge can be sufficient to trigger the “contract bar” and block employees from exercising their right to decertify.

Hally and his coworkers are not the first group of employees to challenge the contract bar policy with Foundation legal assistance. In 2020 through 2021, Foundation attorneys represented Delaware-based Mountaire Farms poultry employee Oscar Cruz Sosa in defending a vote by his coworkers to remove UFCW union officials. UFCW bosses tried to get the ballots thrown out on a contract bar-related technicality. While the NLRB granted UFCW officials’ outrageous request, Cruz Sosa and his colleagues eventually voted 356-80 to remove the UFCW union once the union contract had expired in their workplace.

“If union bosses are truly doing right by the workers they claim to ‘represent,’ they should have no problem letting workers exercise their right to vote on the union’s control,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Unfortunately, union officials hungry for dues and power still enjoy many legal privileges that let them override workers’ will and rights, not the least of which is the pernicious ‘contract bar.’

“If the Trump Administration’s incoming NLRB members are serious about reversing the dysfunctional policies of the Biden Administration, restoring worker freedom, and defending the rights of workers, they will see the injustice in cases like Mr. Hally’s and Mr. Cruz Sosa’s and move to eliminate the ‘contract bar’ right away,” Mix added.

20 Jun 2025

Holistic Industries Cannabis Packing and Delivery Workers Overwhelmingly Request Vote to Remove UFCW Union

Posted in News Releases

Effort comes as UFCW union officials try to rush contract to establish control over Western Mass facility

Springfield, MA (June 20, 2025) – A majority of production employees at cannabis company Holistic Industries’ Monson facility have requested a vote to remove United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1459 union officials from their workplace. Packaging associate Scott Browne submitted the union decertification petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on behalf of his colleagues with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

The NLRB is the agency responsible for enforcing federal labor law, a task that includes administering votes to install (or “certify”) or remove (or “decertify”) unions. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) stipulates that a decertification petition must contain signatures from at least 30% of employees in a work unit to prompt a decertification election. Browne far exceeded this threshold, submitting a showing of interest that contained signatures from over 70% of his work unit.

Because Massachusetts lacks Right to Work protections for its private sector workers, union officials can enforce contracts that require employees 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 and the choice of each individual worker. However, in both Right to Work and non-Right to Work states, union monopoly bargaining contracts control the working conditions of all workers in a unionized workplace, even those who voted against or otherwise oppose the union.

“UFCW union officials are trying to strike a deal with our employer that will require us to pay fees out of our wages just to stay employed here. But with this petition, I and all of my coworkers have made our position clear: We don’t want or need a union,” commented Browne. “UFCW bosses haven’t convinced us that they’re going to deliver on the promises they made when they first came to our workplace, and the prospect of being forced to pay for that kind of ‘representation’ isn’t exactly appealing.”

UFCW Bosses Rush Contract Despite Worker Opposition

UFCW Local 1459 recently called a vote on a contract drafted by union officials. Union officials will often rush to finalize a contract in order to trigger the “contract bar,” a non-statutory NLRB policy that bars workers from requesting a union decertification vote while a union contract is active, up to three years.

Because there is no legal requirement to abide by the results of a worker contract vote, situations sometimes arise in which union officials ratify a contract that workers rejected to keep them trapped in the union under the NLRB’s non-statutory “contract bar” policy. However, because Browne submitted his decertification petition before any contract ratification occurred, Holistic Industries employees have likely avoided this situation.

Union-Label Legislators Seek to Strip Cannabis Workers Nationwide of Freedom to Resist Unionization

Foundation staff attorneys recently assisted employees of Green Thumb Industries – a New Jersey-based cannabis company – in filing a petition to remove UFCW union officials from power at their facility. Foundation attorneys have also opposed state legislative schemes that would require cannabis companies to grant union bosses special access to their workers just as a condition of operating. Such arrangements – misleadingly called “labor peace agreements” – infringe workers’ right to freely decide for or against union control, yet have become law in California, New York, and other states. Massachusetts legislators filed a bill last legislative session to establish such a framework.

“Holistic Industries workers have joined the groundswell of workers nationwide who are exercising their right to declare independence from union bosses who don’t represent their interests,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “While we’re confident that they will succeed in their effort to oust UFCW officials, union-label legislators are trying to stifle cannabis industry employees’ rights across the country as a sop to their union boss political allies.

“State lawmakers have no shortage of factors to wrestle with when deciding whether to greenlight the cannabis industry, but one thing should be non-negotiable: Letting the industry take root shouldn’t mean that workers’ individual rights go up in smoke,” Mix added.

4 Mar 2025

Cincinnati-Area Kroger Employee Wins Federal Case Against UFCW, Grocer for Illegal Union Dues Deductions

Posted in News Releases

Kroger and union must reimburse unlawfully seized dues as worker transfers to store in Right to Work Kentucky to block any future forced dues

Fairfield, OH (March 4, 2025 ) – Kroger Grocery employee James Carroll has prevailed in his federal case against United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 75 union and corporate grocery conglomerate Kroger. The resolution comes after charges were filed against UFCW for threatening Carroll with termination for refusing to sign an illegal union dues deduction form and against Kroger for unlawfully deducting union dues from his paycheck.

To avoid prosecution, Kroger and UFCW agreed to a settlement that requires them to reimburse Carroll for unlawfully seized dues and post a public notice informing employees of their rights. Carroll received free legal aid from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys.

Carroll’s charges at Region 9 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Cincinnati explain that the form UFCW union bosses forced him to sign is an illegal “dual purpose” membership form, which seeks only one employee signature for authorization of both union membership and dues deductions. Federal labor law requires that any authorization for union dues deductions be voluntary and separate from a union membership application. Additionally, Supreme Court precedents like General Motors v. NLRB recognize the right of workers to refrain from formal union membership.

In contrast to neighboring Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia, Ohio lacks a state Right to Work law. This means UFCW union officials to have the power to force Carroll and his coworkers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of keeping a job, even if they are nonmembers. However, even without Right to Work, union officials must obtain employees’ consent before instructing an employer to deduct union dues directly from a worker’s paycheck, and forced-fee amounts cannot include money that goes toward a union’s political activity, as established in the Foundation-won CWA v. Beck Supreme Court decision.

In addition to securing a victory in his case, Carroll took the additional step of transferring to a Kroger store in Right to Work Kentucky to avoid any future union threats demanding payment. Under Right to Work, all payments to the union are strictly voluntary, meaning Carroll cannot be forced to fund the very UFCW officials who violated his rights.

On Illegal Dues Practices, Kroger and UFCW Are Repeat Offenders

This isn’t the first time Foundation attorneys have aided Kroger employees facing illegal dual-purpose membership forms pushed by UFCW union bosses. In February 2023, Houston, TX-area Kroger worker Jessica Haefner filed federal charges against the UFCW for presenting her with such a dual-purpose form, and for altering her writing on the form to show she consented to union dues deductions when she was actually trying to exercise her right under Texas’ Right to Work law to abstain from dues payment.

In 2024, Foundation attorneys also assisted a Portland-area grocery store employee Reegin Schaffer, who filed and won federal unfair labor practice charges against a UFCW union there. In that case, union officials ignored her requests to resign union membership during a union strike and then unlawfully retaliated against her by seeking to fine her for exercising her right to rebuff union boss strike orders and go to work.

“We are pleased with this legal victory for Mr. Carroll, and that he is now completely free of union bosses’ forced-dues demands because he works in Right to Work Kentucky,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Of course most workers subjected to union bosses’ ‘pay-up-or-be-fired’ threats don’t have the option of commuting to a location in a Right to Work state.

“That’s why, despite the good resolution, though this case shows why workers everywhere need Right to Work protections,” added Mix.

6 Feb 2025

Fourth Fred Meyer Grocery Employee Hits UFCW Union with Federal Charges

Posted in News Releases

Unfair Labor Practice Charge: Union Bosses illegally threatening strike fine against nonmember worker

 

PORTLAND, OR (February 6, 2025) – Portland-area Fred Meyer grocery store employee Robert Wendelschafer has filed federal charges against the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Local 555. The charges state that union officials broke federal law by ignoring his request to resign union membership during a union strike and are unlawfully retaliating against the employee by demanding nearly $1000 from him because he exercised his right to rebuff union boss strike orders and go to work.

Robert Wendelschafer has joined co-workers Sandra Harbison, Coyesca Vasquez, and Reegin Schaffer in filing charges against the UFCW with National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 19 with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. All four took legal action to challenge unlawful retaliation by union officials after the workers rebuffed union strike orders last year.

As detailed in his charge, on August 30, 2024 Wendelschafer exercised his right to resign union membership and return to work. Despite this, on December 18 union officials sent him a letter stating they had found him guilty of violating internal UFCW rules by crossing the picket line and as a result ordered him to pay a fine in the amount of $992.

If an employee is not a voluntary union member, he or she cannot be legally subjected to internal union discipline, like the fine UFCW union officials are attempting to impose on Wendelschafer, Harbison and Vasquez. UFCW union officials backed off their illegal discipline tactics in Shaffer’s case nearly immediately after her charges were filed in November, but the other charges are still pending with the agency.

UFCW Officials Were Previously Caught Illegally Imposing Massive Strike Fines Against Workers

During past UFCW–instigated strikes, workers faced similar unlawful fines, which union officials claim can only be disputed at internal union courts. In 2022, union officials illegally levied fines against King Soopers grocery chain workers in Denver, Colorado, who chose to exercise their right to work during a strike.

The unlawful fines issued by union bosses against the workers were more per day than the workers earned in a day of work, in one case totaling nearly $4,000 throughout the 10 day strike. In that instance Foundation staff attorneys won multiple cases against the UFCW, ultimately resulting in union bosses rescinding the unlawful fines.

“UFCW union officials are again displaying their penchant for using strikes to consolidate power, by threatening rank-and-file workers who exercise their legally-protected right to work despite a union boss-ordered strike,” said National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix. “Workers have a clear legal right to resign from union membership and return to work without facing illegal fines or disciplinary actions, and  Foundation attorneys stand ready to assist other Fred Meyer employees that have been subjected to illegal UFCW fines and threats.”

 

25 Nov 2024

Portland–Area Fred Meyer Employee Wins Dispute with UFCW Union Local 555 Over Illegal Union Threats

Posted in News Releases

UFCW union bosses backed down after facing federal charges for threatening workers who wouldn’t join union strike

PORTLAND, OR (November 25, 2024) – Reegin Schaffer, a Portland-area Fred Meyer employee, has prevailed in her dispute with United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Local 555. Schaffer filed charges against the union alleging that union officials broke federal law by ignoring her requests to resign union membership during a union strike and by unlawfully retaliating against her by seeking to fine her for exercising her right to disagree with union boss strike orders and go to work. Schaffer is receiving free legal representation from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys.

Foundation attorneys’ actions forced UFCW Local 555 to quickly drop its internal disciplinary proceedings against her. These proceedings, which could have resulted in punitive fines, were initiated after Schaffer resigned her union membership and returned to work.

Charges: UFCW Union Bosses Made Illegal Fine Threats

Schaffer and co-worker Coyesca Vasquez filed charges at National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 19. The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the federal law that governs private sector labor relations in the United States.

As detailed in the charges, on August 30, 2024 the employees exercised their right to resign union membership and return to work. However, on September 24, 2024, and October 14 2024, respectively, UFCW union officials notified Vasquez and Schaffer that the union had started internal proceedings against them and that their presence would soon be required at a union “trial,” which is the first step towards imposing fines.

If an employee is not a voluntary union member, he or she cannot be legally subjected to internal union discipline like the kind UFCW union officials attempted to impose. In such internal discipline tribunals, union bosses frequently levy punitive fines against workers amounting to thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.

Once UFCW union officials dropped their attempt to fine Schaffer, Foundation staff attorneys asked the NLRB to end the case. Meanwhile, Coyesca Vasquez’s charge remains pending with the agency, which is investigating UFCW officials’ actions against Vasquez.

UFCW Officials Were Previously Caught Illegally Imposing Massive Strike Fines Against Workers

Workers have faced similar unlawful fines, during past UFCW–instigated strikes. In 2022, union officials illegally levied fines against King Sooper’s grocery chain workers in Denver, Colorado who chose to exercise their right to work during a strike.

The unlawful fines issued by union bosses against the workers were more per day than the workers earned in a day of work, in one case totaling nearly $4,000 throughout the 10 day strike. In that instance, Foundation staff attorneys filed multiple cases against the UFCW, ultimately resulting in union bosses rescinding the unlawful fines.

“That Reegin Schaffer ultimately prevailed and forced UFCW bosses to drop their illegal threats does not erase the troubling pattern of behavior by UFCW union officials, who have repeatedly sought to undermine workers’ protected legal rights through retaliatory fines,” said National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix. “Employees should not have to file federal charges just to have their rights respected, and we look forward to continuing to assist Coyesca Vasquez in her case against UFCW union bosses’ ugly retaliation tactics.”