National Right to Work Foundation Attorneys Help GM Employees
Foundation Assists Workers During UAW Union Boss-Ordered GM
Strike
Strike order comes during growing UAW boss corruption and
embezzlement investigation
DETROIT, MI – In September, United Auto Workers (UAW) union
bosses ordered tens of thousands of General Motors workers on strike. The
strike came as federal prosecutors were intensifying their investigation into
embezzlement and corruption within the UAW hierarchy. Just days before the
strike, the probe had reached the top levels of the UAW when FBI agents raided
the homes of the union’s current president and his predecessor.
Amid the scandal and union boss-instigated strike, National
Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys were assisting several
Michigan workers in legal challenges to the coercive practices of UAW
officials. Additionally, Foundation Legal Information staff publicized a
“special legal notice” directed at workers affected by the strike to ensure
they knew their legal rights despite persistent union misinformation and
threats.
GM Worker Stands Up to UAW Discrimination
Joseph Small, a stamping metal repair worker at a Lansing,
Michigan, GM plant, filed a federal charge with the National Labor Relations
Board (NLRB) right before the strike unfolded with free aid from Foundation
staff attorneys. Small, who is not a UAW member and is not required to pay fees
to the union because of Michigan’s Right to Work Law, asserted in his charge
that UAW officials “heavily involved [themselves] in the interview process” for
a promotion for which he was being considered.
Small was passed over for the position, which went to a
union member. Small’s charge notes that a union representative later “stated
that [Small] did not get the position because [he] was not paying union dues,”
a clear violation of federal labor law.
According to the National Labor Relations Act, workers have
the right to refrain from union activities and neither union officials nor
management can discriminate against employees based on their union membership
status.
Ford Worker Wins Unanimous NLRB Ruling
Ford Motor Company worker Lloyd Stoner, who works at the
company’s facility in Dearborn, Michigan, won a second victory in defense of
his rights this August with free legal aid from the Foundation.
Stoner, who had originally charged UAW officials and Ford
with illegally seizing dues from his paycheck despite his previously resigning
his union membership and revoking his dues deduction authorization, received a
unanimous ruling from a three-member panel of the NLRB in Washington, D.C. The
labor board directed UAW officials to make Stoner whole for the dues they
illegally took.
The NLRB also ordered UAW officials to immediately honor any
other employees’ membership resignations. Stoner had earlier won a favorable
settlement from Ford for its role in blocking him from exercising his rights.
“UAW union officials continue to show a willingness to break the law, even violating the rights of the very workers they claim to represent,” observed National Right to Work Foundation Vice President Patrick Semmens. “Whether it be federal corruption prosecutions or unfair labor practice charges at the NLRB, UAW bosses must be held accountable when they break the law.”
If you have questions about whether union officials are violating your rights, contact the Foundation for free help. To take action by supporting The National Right to Work Committee and fueling the fight against Forced Unionism, click here to donate now.
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