Six Freed From Compulsory Unionism

Thanks to the assistance of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, six workers will no longer have union fees taken from the paychecks after they filed unfair labor practice charges alleging a violation of the Indiana’s newly minted Right to Work law.

The Graphic Communications International Union, Local 17M, will advise Domtar Paper Co., to cease deducting union fees from the paychecks of six Indianapolis-area employees after they filed unfair labor practice charges alleging a violation of the state’s right to work law.

Broatus Lambert, Lawrence Langworth, Christopher McKay, Kenneth Rosenfeld, Kevin Schrader and William Schwier resigned from the union in February. They contended to the National Labor Relations Board that the union and company should have stopped collecting dues when their labor contract expired in March.

Indiana passed landmark right to work legislation in March 2012. Under the law, companies and unions can’t negotiate a contract after March 14, 2012 that requires nonmembers to pay fees for representation. The bill sailed through the Indiana General Assembly despite thousands of union members protesting daily at the Statehouse and several walkouts from Democrats who opposed the measure.

The National Right to Work Foundation had filed the unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board for free on behalf of the six employees.

The foundation, and other advocates of the law, say it’s unfair to force employees to contribute money to a union as a condition of employment. Unions and their supporters say the law will force unions to represent workers who aren’t paying their