Dear Conservatives,
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."
Parents often rely on this old proverb to teach their children the value of discipline and hard work.
But greedy union bosses have their own version: If you get caught breaking the law the first time, try, try again.
Last year, National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys provided free legal aid to eight local government employees in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, who exercised their right to refrain from formal union membership with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1600 union.
IBEW Local 1600 union bosses nonetheless seized over 99 percent of full union dues from the workers' paychecks without following federal requirements designed to ensure that union bosses are not charging independent-minded workers for the union's politics and member-only activities.
After the eight employees sued in federal court, the union settled.
But now Local 1600 union officials are it again, still seizing over 90 percent of full membership dues, including amounts not constitutionally chargeable, the workers demonstrate in a new complaint in federal court.
Of course, this is virtually standard operating procedure for Big Labor.
In 2007, Bridgeport, Connecticut police officer William Bailey resigned his membership from the Bridgeport Police Local 1159 and Council 15 AFSCME, AFL-CIO unions. And earlier this year, he indicated that he wished to opt out of dues unrelated to workplace bargaining.
But the City of Bridgeport continued seizing the equivalent of full union dues from his paycheck for the two unions, so Bailey sued with the help of Foundation staff attorneys.
Bailey finally won a settlement this week, but the case serves as a reminder of the legal hoops independent-minded workers must jump through in order to exercise their rights against union bosses who would rather keep them in the dark
But union lawyers rarely give in without a fight, twisting one bogus legal argument after another to get courts to rubber stamp forced dues for politics schemes.
Later this year, Foundation attorneys will make our 15th trip to the High Court to blow apart one such scheme.
In 2005, a California affiliate of the radical Service Employees International Union (SEIU) demanded a "special assessment" to raise money from every single state employee covered by a union monopoly bargaining contract for a union political fund.
A victory at the Supreme Court would provide additional protections to every government employee across the entire country.
But only Right to Work laws, by making union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary, can truly prevent these forced-unionism abuses.
And we'll never back down in the face of adversity.
Sincerely,
Mark Mix
P.S. The Foundation relies completely on voluntary contributions from its supporters to provide free legal aid.
Please chip in with a tax-deductible contribution of $10 or more today to support the Foundation's programs.
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."
Parents often rely on this old proverb to teach their children the value of discipline and hard work.
But greedy union bosses have their own version: If you get caught breaking the law the first time, try, try again.
Last year, National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys provided free legal aid to eight local government employees in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, who exercised their right to refrain from formal union membership with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1600 union.
IBEW Local 1600 union bosses nonetheless seized over 99 percent of full union dues from the workers' paychecks without following federal requirements designed to ensure that union bosses are not charging independent-minded workers for the union's politics and member-only activities.
After the eight employees sued in federal court, the union settled.
But now Local 1600 union officials are it again, still seizing over 90 percent of full membership dues, including amounts not constitutionally chargeable, the workers demonstrate in a new complaint in federal court.
Of course, this is virtually standard operating procedure for Big Labor.
In 2007, Bridgeport, Connecticut police officer William Bailey resigned his membership from the Bridgeport Police Local 1159 and Council 15 AFSCME, AFL-CIO unions. And earlier this year, he indicated that he wished to opt out of dues unrelated to workplace bargaining.
But the City of Bridgeport continued seizing the equivalent of full union dues from his paycheck for the two unions, so Bailey sued with the help of Foundation staff attorneys.
Bailey finally won a settlement this week, but the case serves as a reminder of the legal hoops independent-minded workers must jump through in order to exercise their rights against union bosses who would rather keep them in the dark
But union lawyers rarely give in without a fight, twisting one bogus legal argument after another to get courts to rubber stamp forced dues for politics schemes.
Later this year, Foundation attorneys will make our 15th trip to the High Court to blow apart one such scheme.
In 2005, a California affiliate of the radical Service Employees International Union (SEIU) demanded a "special assessment" to raise money from every single state employee covered by a union monopoly bargaining contract for a union political fund.
A victory at the Supreme Court would provide additional protections to every government employee across the entire country.
But only Right to Work laws, by making union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary, can truly prevent these forced-unionism abuses.
And we'll never back down in the face of adversity.
Sincerely,
Mark Mix
P.S. The Foundation relies completely on voluntary contributions from its supporters to provide free legal aid.
Please chip in with a tax-deductible contribution of $10 or more today to support the Foundation's programs.
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