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.
Colorado Executive Order Leaves Door Open for Forced Union Dues
Following up on last week’s post, Stan Greer of the National Institute for Labor Relations Research spoke out last week against a recent executive order in Colorado extending union monopoly bargaining over state employees. (NRTW Foundation Vice President and Legal Director Raymond J. LaJeunesse, Jr. spoke at the event.)
According to an article in the Denver Business Journal:
Greer also said that even if legislators approve a law prohibiting
government workers from striking — and Ritter signs it — 48 percent
of public sector strikes are technically illegal, meaning that
legislation is not an effective deterrent against strikes."By all economic measures, Colorado would be better off without
forced dues and fees and everyone would be better off with right to
work laws."
How true- if strike prohibitions work, how did union officials shut down New York City just before Christmas in 2005″ They didn’t seem to mind the illegality of that strike. The imposition of forced union dues has also prompted state employees in Washington and Maine to fight back.
Caught on Tape: Union Boss Accepts Cash Bribes
The following movie clip is actual FBI undercover footage of a United Transportation Union (UTU) bagman accepting a cash bribe on behalf of the union’s president.
The footage underscores why the National Right to Work Foundation is leading the fight to free America’s workers from forced unionism, and how compulsory unionism and corruption go hand-in-hand.
Imposition of Forced Union Dues a «Dirty Deal»
The Denver Post published an article earlier this week featuring the NRTW Foundation’s work on behalf of state employees in Washington in 2006, including Patricia Woodward. Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) union officials ordered Ms. Woodward fired for refusal to pay dues. In the Post article, her niece, Darla Branif, called the imposition of forced dues on Washington state employees a "dirty deal."
In 2006 WFSE spokesman Tim Welch told dissenting employees exactly what he thought when asked by a local newspaper:
"You can choose to be a member of the union, you can choose to pay a fee. But ultimately, if you don’t like that, you can choose to be unemployed."
Sadly, with no Right to Work law in place in Washington, Welch is right. However, employees in Washington did fight back with the Foundation’s help. Watch Patricia Woodward’s statement at a related press conference below.
Republican NLRB Appointee Allows Union Featherbedding
In a disturbing move that further underscores the Bush administration’s mismanagement of the National Labor Relations Board, NLRB General Counsel Ronald Meisburg has inexplicably added activist Democrat Dennis Walsh to his staff in recent days. Walsh is a militant union-boss partisan who had just vacated an expired recess appointment to the five member NLRB — a recess appointment that he should never have received from President Bush in the first place. Rather than receiving a make-work job within the bureaucracy while he pines away for yet another Board seat, Walsh should instead return to private employment. As a voting member, Walsh had worked to undermine employee free choice and to empower union bosses to coerce workers into union ranks. It’s outrageous that he would be rewarded with a new post at Bush’s NLRB.
Employees Hit Union with Federal Charges After Being Slapped with $120,000 in Illegal Retaliatory Fines
Oostburg, WI (January 7, 2008) – With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, four Pre-Heat, Inc. employees have filed federal charges against the Sheet Metal Workers International Association union for exorbitant and illegal retaliatory fines levied against them.
The employees, led by Patrick Keefe, filed the unfair labor practice charges at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Sheet Metal Workers Local 18. Union officials hit them with fines of $30,000 each after they resigned their formal union membership and returned to work during a union-ordered strike. Nonunion members are not subject to internal union discipline.
Following their resignations, Keefe and his coworkers also began gathering signatures for a decertification election, an NLRB-supervised secret ballot election to oust a union, which is generally an uphill battle for workers to obtain. However, the employees’ efforts resulted in a majority of employees signing the petition to oust the unpopular union, and Pre-Heat, Inc. then withdrew recognition from the union because it no longer had the employees’ support.
After the strike ended, in November 2007, union officials ordered Keefe and his four coworkers to attend a Sheet Metal Workers union internal kangaroo court held for the purpose of punishing them for exercising their legal rights. Union agent Patrick Landgraf charged the employees with violating the union’s constitution. In his written statement during the union trial, Landgraf claimed Keefe and the others “selfishly crossed” the picket line for “this rat contractor” and accused the employees of preventing the union from obtaining a new contract. Landgraf did not mention that his union had been resoundingly rejected by the workers.
Because they were not members of the union, Keefe and the other employees chose not to show up at the “trial.” In their absence, the union’s Executive Board found the employees “guilty” of all charges, fining them a total of $120,000. Sheet Metal Workers union officials ordered Keefe and the three other workers to pay the illegally imposed fines within 30 days.
“It is unconscionable for union bosses to attempt to drive workers into the poorhouse in vicious retaliation for returning to work,” said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “This union intimidation is all too common in states like Wisconsin where there is no Right to Work law on the books.”
A Right to Work law secures the right of employees to decide for themselves whether or not to join or financially support a union. The NLRB’s Regional Office will now investigate the charges and decide whether to issue a formal complaint and prosecute the union.
National Right to Work Foundation Launches Online Video Updates
Here’s a new video from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix thanking supporters for helping the Foundation fight compulsory unionism online by creating cutting edge video content in its new in-house production studio.
Michigan Union Boss Whines About Right to Work
Over at the Times Herald’s opinion section, another union boss whined about the growing Right to Work movement in Michigan. The ex construction union chief had this to say:
“If Michigan becomes a right-to-work state, you might as well pack your bags and leave it.”
The problem is (as we have repeatedly reported here) Michiganders are already leaving the state – precisely because of Big Labor’s forced unionism stranglehold. The lack of a Right to Work law has not only deprived employees of their freedom of association, but it has also contributed to Michigan’s skyrocketing unemployment levels and heavy taxes.
Right to Work laws guarantee that no person can be compelled, as a condition of employment, to join or not to join, nor to pay dues to a labor union. It’s no wonder Michiganders are packing their bags for Right to Work states.
Let’s hope that this situation changes before the state’s economy collapses.
Teamsters Picket Update: 10 Arrested for Threatening Conduct
Following up with Justin’s post on an ugly Teamsters picket in Somerville, Massachusetts, today’s news stories report that 10 Teamsters thugs were arrested during the mess.
The Somerville News has the story:
10 Teamsters were arrested “for rude, offensive and threatening conduct,” according to police.
The owner of Russell Disposal, Charles Carneglia, explained that he feared for his safety after Teamsters militants harassed him when he entered the facility:
…when Carneglia walked to front gate the Teamsters would begin taunting and catcalling him. “Ya piece of s**t,” yelled one picketer Thursday afternoon. “You’re a criminal.”
After the incident last week, Local 25 chief Sean O’Brien was apparently “too busy” to address repeated press inquires. Unable to answer for the Teamsters union notorious and thuggish actions, it’s no wonder this union boss went into hiding.
