January/February 2008 Foundation Action
The January/February 2008 Foundation Action newsletter is now available!
In this issue:
- Right to Work Foundation Helps Secure High Court Review
- Right to Work Foundation Launches New Cutting-Edge Website
- Congress Complains About Foundation Legal Victories
- Discriminatory Union Objection Procedure Smacked Down Again
- Foundation Helps Nurses Fight Illegal Retaliation
- Laidlaw Transit Drivers Kick Unwanted Union Off the Bus
Download the January/February 2008 Foundation Action PDF here.
Update: Union Organizers Deal Casino Employees A Bad Hand
Last week, we covered the United Auto Workers (UAW) union’s battle to become Foxwood Casino dealers’ monopoly bargaining agent. As the National Labor Relations Board continues its hearing on the validity of the unionization election, employees’ testimony of UAW union intimidation continues to roll in.
TheDay.com updates us on the story:
Others said they were either told directly or overheard union supporters telling dealers prior to the election that their jobs were in jeopardy if they voted against unionization.
True to form, many union organizers have no shame in dealing these casino workers a bad hand: the UAW’s back hand.
Remember, if you feel that union organizers have violated your rights, contact the National Right to Work Foundation toll-free at 800-336-3600 or visit this page to learn about your legal rights.
KV Pharmaceutical Employees Vote To Oust Unwanted Teamsters Union from Workplace
St. Louis, MO (January 23, 2008) – Overcoming months of union stonewalling, federal officials today announced KV Pharmaceutical Company (NYSE:KV-A) employees have voted 89-46 to remove an unpopular Teamsters union local from their workplace.
Teamsters Local 688 has been booted as the employees’ “exclusive bargaining representative” and may no longer act as a middleman between the employees and management. The employees received free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation in overcoming months of delays at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and legal challenges by Teamsters union lawyers who tried to stonewall the results of the vote.
Calbert Edwards and his KV Pharma coworkers obtained the secret ballot “decertification” vote after gaining signatures from an overwhelming majority of employees at the pharmaceutical giant. However, after the election was held in November, the NLRB Regional Director indefinitely impounded the ballots, leaving the employees without their election results.
Teamsters Local 688 lawyers had delayed the counting of ballots by filing “blocking charges” at the NLRB. They alleged that the company tried to entice the employees to vote against the Teamsters union by promising better benefits if the Teamsters union was voted out.
But, with help from attorneys at the National Right to Work Foundation, Edwards and his coworkers petitioned the NLRB to proceed. Consequently, in early January the NLRB Regional Director granted the request – dismissing the Teamsters union’s charges – and ordered the ballots counted. As a result of the employees’ decertification victory, KV Pharma workers will now be free to negotiate their own terms and conditions of employment, and be rewarded on their individual merit.
“Teamsters lawyers threw up every stumbling block possible over the past several months to block KV Pharma employees from exercising their free choice,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The hostility of the union hierarchy to workers’ interests shows why Missouri needs a Right to Work law that would make union affiliation and dues payment strictly voluntary.”
A decertification election, an NLRB-supervised secret ballot election to oust a union, is an uphill battle for workers to obtain or win. In particular, union lawyers are adept at gumming up the works by filing baseless charges that often block an election for years. Employees can also only obtain such elections during narrowly prescribed periods every few years, and incumbent union hierarchies often retaliate against dissenting employees.
New Video: Right to Work Report Spotlights Hollywood Forced Unionism Abuse
National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix details the Foundation’s efforts to help Sai Ly Acosta and other musicians in Hollywood after union officials indicated they would be arrested for showing up for rehearsal.
Coercive “Card Check” Instant Organizing Puts Bull’s-eyes on Employees’ Backs
Brian Howard, a Toyota employee in Georgetown, Kentucky, who runs NoUAW.com to keep his workplace free of unwanted unionization, was featured over the weekend in the Cincinnati Enquirer.
"The UAW knows they do not have and will never have the votes to win an election," says Howard’s co-worker Marvin Robbins. "So they want to take the rights of the workers away and not have an election."
"The majority are sick of the harassment," Robbins said. "You would
think the UAW would get the message after 20 years, but they are so
desperate for membership they continue to show up where they are
clearly not wanted or needed."
UAW officials are among the most aggressive in using coercive "card check" unionization drives, as Right to Work Foundation-aided employee Mike Ivey can tell you. And if the Card Check Instant Organizing bill becomes the law of the land, not only will employees like Mr. Howard and Mr. Robbins have bull’s-eyes on their backs, but it will undermine the freedom to choose of all of their coworkers.
Follow Up on Timber Trucker’s Win Against Teamsters Union
Montana timber trucker Michael Weller, who received free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, won an agreement that requires Teamsters Local 2 union officials to reimburse him all forced dues and initiation fees, plus interest.
The Associated Press reported:
Weller said he paid the [forced dues] charges out of fear of losing his job, and sought financial disclosure documents from the union to determine if he was paying the correct amount.
However, even though it was an encouraging victory for Weller, without a Right to Work law in Montana, there are countless more workers who are forced to pay hundreds of dollars to an unwanted union each year or lose their jobs.
The Daily Inter Lake and the Flathead Beacon also covered Weller’s victory.
Foundation-Won U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Resonates on the Strip in Las Vegas
A Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial today highlights the importance of the National Right to Work Foundation’s Beck U.S. Supreme Court victory.
Unfortunately, union officials commonly ignore and violate that principle, as borne out by the number of Beck enforcement cases the Foundation has. However, the article recognizes that as a Right to Work state, employees can go beyond cutting off union dues for politics.
With union officials in this context squabbling over which candidate to support, employees in Nevada deserve to know that they can not only cut off their dues going towards union political activities- they are free to pay none at all.
Right to Work Again Advances Arguments @ U.S. Supreme Court
The National Right to Work Foundation just filed a "friend of the court" brief supporting employee free choice at the U.S. Supreme Court in the Chamber v. Brown case. At issue is a controversial 9th Circuit decision that basically forces coercive union organizing on private companies receiving state funds.
Foundation attorneys have successfully helped contest similiar laws in Wisconsin, and through this brief in New York. Additionally, with 13 trips to the U.S. Supreme Court on record, most recently the 2007 Davenport defensive victory, Foundation attorneys are no strangers to the highest court in the land.
Butte-Based Teamsters Union Backs Down After Timber Trucker Files Federal Charges for Illegal Threats to Job
Butte, MT (January 16, 2008) – To avoid federal prosecution by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a local union had no choice but to withdraw illegal termination threats against a Kalispell-based employee of Hanson Trucking and Resin Haulers Inc. and return all forced dues plus interest to the timber trucker.
The agreement, won by National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys, requires Teamsters Local 2 union officials to reimburse Michael Weller full union back dues plus 10 percent interest on all dues paid. Teamsters officials also promised to provide full financial disclosure of the use of Weller’s forced dues, as required by law.
With help from Foundation attorneys, Weller filed charges in October 2007 at the NLRB against the Teamsters Local 2 union to protect himself from union threats that he would be fired from his job for refusing to join the union. The charges cite that Teamsters Local 2 union officials attempted to collect ongoing and back forced union dues, while failing to provide Weller with a verified audited breakdown of union chargeable and non-chargeable expenses.
After learning of his right to refrain from formal union membership independent of Teamsters Local 2, Weller sent letters to union officials asserting his right not to be forced to pay more than the documented cost of monopoly bargaining. Because the union responded with threats against his job, Weller had no choice but to pay under protest hundreds of dollars in forced union dues – using a money order.
“This legal battle would never have been necessary if the State of Montana did not have an outrageous policy of forced unionism,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Until Montana passes a Right to Work law that ensures that payment of union dues is strictly voluntary, union officials will inevitably continue to victimize and extort money from dissenting employees.”
In the Foundation-won Communications Workers of America v. Beck decision, which applies to forced unionism states, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employees working under the National Labor Relations Act are entitled to resign from formal union membership, but can still be forced to pay for activities related to union monopoly bargaining. However, they cannot be compelled to pay for other costs such as union political activities.
Additionally, a union collecting forced dues must have an independent third party audit its expenditures and verify that the percentage of dues that non-members are forced to pay does not include political spending and other non-collective bargaining expenses.
Auto Union Runs Over Casino Workers
Since last spring, United Auto Workers (UAW) union officials have had Foxwoods Resort Casino workers in its sights. Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation runs Foxwoods Resort Casino, which happens to be one of the most successful casinos in the world.
Following an election held in November, Foxwoods filed unfair labor practices at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—citing a whopping 12 objections to the UAW union’s organizing tactics.
TheDay.com has the story:
The tribe also questioned why the ballots were not multilingual and alleged that UAW representatives harassed and intimidated eligible voters before the election.
Sadly, it’s all too common for union organizers to mislead or even harass employees during a unionization drive.
With the charges, the NLRB began its hearings over the dispute yesterday. A casino employee described the UAW union’s threatening tactics:
…one dealer…“was chased by car out of the employee parking lot and almost forced into a concrete barrier.”
The outcome of the NLRB hearing could have national implications, as union officials could be granted monopoly bargaining privileges over the largest tribal casino in the nation—leaving the door open for the UAW union (and others) to sink their teeth in at other tribal casinos.
