Federal Prosecution Against Grocery Union Bosses for Widespread Rights Abuses to Proceed as Class-Action
Union officials’ illegal forced-dues scheme violated possibly thousands of workers’ rights
Phoenix, AZ (October 22, 2010) – A federal prosecution initiated by several Fry’s Food Stores workers, whose rights were abused by local union bosses during a looming strike last year, will proceed as a “class action” and will potentially affect thousands of similarly-situated employees statewide.
With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, employees from several Fry’s locations in Arizona filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 99 union hierarchy and Fry’s management after union and company officials continued to seize union dues from their paychecks despite repeated requests to stop.
Upset by a UFCW Local 99 boss-initiated strike threat last November, the employees resigned formal union membership and revoked their dues deduction authorizations – used by union officials to automatically withhold dues from employee paychecks – during a time in which the union did not have a contract at their workplaces.
The charges, filed by Shirley Jones of Mesa, Karen Medley and Elaine Brown of Apache Junction, Kimberly Stewart and Saloomeh Hardy of Queen Creek, and Tommy and Janette Fuentes of Florence – acting for other similarly situated employees – spurred the NLRB Regional Director in Phoenix to find that the dues deduction authorizations used by UFCW Local 99 union officials at all Arizona Fry’s Food Stores locations were illegal because they do not allow employees to revoke them once a contract terminates, as required by federal law.
Subsequently, the NLRB’s Regional Director initiated a statewide prosecution against UFCW Local 99 union bosses. However, an NLRB administrative law judge refused to uphold a subpoena of the union’s statewide records that would indicate how widespread the union’s practice of failing to honor Fry’s employees’ dues revocations really is. This week, the NLRB in Washington, D.C. overruled the judge’s decision and ordered the union to comply with the subpoena.
Comments
Withdrawal of Union Membership.
Sir/Mam,
I was working part time job for 3 hours a day, 5 days in a week, Monday-Friday,at Arc Tech Inc.a janitorial company inside the Norfolk Naval Base, Norfolk Va. One day they invited staffs to attend a meeting with one of union representatives that explained to us some of the benefits of being a union member. Then at the end of the meeting they passed a paper for us to put our employment informations and status then asked to sign it. The representative told me that they will review my paper since I was only doing part time. After a month they started taking out union fees for 12 dollars a month then later 14 now they are taking 28 dollars. A month after they started taking money on my pay check I talked to my manager that I was having a financial difficulties and I want to withdraw my memberships. He said that I have to talk to that representative and gave me the telephone number. I called three times but he was hard on me and told me that I have to quit the job if I want stop the membership. Please advice me on this matter. My telephone numer is: 757-480-0399/Cell#757-401-8387. Thank You so much.