Michigan Right To Work Fight Continues - 15 More File Charges Against Machinists

Welcome to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation weekly news update. In this week's report we update our continuing legal battle to protect Michigan's Right To Work laws in addition to helping 15 More Caterpillar employees file charges against the Machinists union.

Let's begin in Michigan.

National Right to Work attorneys moved to defend America's newest Right to Work Law against a union boss federal lawsuit on behalf of 4 Michiganders.

Ford Motor Company employees Terry Bowman and Brian Pannebecker; employee Aaric Aaron Lewis; and Aunt Millie's Bakery employee Robert G. Harris filed the motion to intervene in the United States Eastern District Court. All four workers are currently forced to financially support a union in order to keep their jobs.

In February, the Michigan State AFL-CIO, the union-affiliated group Change to Win, and the AFL-CIO-affiliated Michigan State Building and Construction Trades Council union filed a federal lawsuit claiming that federal labor law preempts Michigan's Right to Work law.

However, federal labor law explicitly gives states the power to pass Right to Work laws. National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys have successfully defended state Right to Work laws from similar union-backed challenges numerous times, and the U.S. Supreme Court has long held that state Right to Work laws are constitutional.

"Union bosses can't stand the fact that Michigan workers now have Right to Work protection," said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. "The court should allow these four workers to defend their workplace freedom in this lawsuit that has far-reaching implications for all Michigan workers."

Although Michigan's recently-enacted Right to Work law states that no employee can be required to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment, forced dues contracts between union officials and employers entered into prior to the effective date of the law remain in force throughout the state.
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A few weeks ago, we reported that 2 dozen Caterpillar employee filed charges against the International Association of Machinists union, Local 851. This week, 15 more CAT employees have filed charges.
With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, these Caterpillar employees filed federal charges against the union for violating their rights and levying retaliatory strike fines in the wake of last summer's union boss-instigated strike against Caterpillar.
Under federal law, employees who are not members of a union cannot be disciplined for continuing to work during a union boss-ordered strike. However, Machinist union officials levied fines totaling over a million dollars against CAT employees who continued to work during the strike.
"As more Caterpillar workers come forward, the pattern of abuse perpetrated by IAM union bosses becomes clearer," said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. "The aftermath of the Caterpillar strike underscores the need for an Illinois Right to Work law. Machinist union officials appear to have made their standard operating procedure one of intimidation and violation of Caterpillar employees' rights when they do not toe the union line."
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Thank you for watching and we hope you will tune --in for next week's update of National Right To Work's ongoing battle against forced unionism.
Please visit NRTW.org for information about these and other cases; or to inquire about the Foundation's free legal services.

Published on Apr 24, 2013

Pennsylvania teacher has to sue NEA union and Downingtown Area School District administrators ignoring her union resignation.

Teamsters continued to strike out at Supreme Court and may finally pay up.

Published on Apr 22, 2013

A Right to Work law secures the right of employees to decide for themselves whether or not to join or financially support a union. However, employees who work in the railway or airline industries are not protected by a Right to Work law, and employees who work on a federal enclave may not be.

Visit the National Right to Work Website by clicking HERE

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