Union Intimidation

“Streamlining” Union Intimidation

Anthony Riedel — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:29:27 -0500

Last week, blogger Clayton Cramer gave his take on why Big Labor bosses would want to wipe out secret ballot elections from the American workplace. His account includes some telling examples of union boss intimidation:

I am more inclined to suspect that a lot of people sign the union authorization cards because they are either strongly encouraged or even directly threatened to do so. Labor unions are fundamentally institutions of organized violence. A friend who has since passed on left me this account of working in a union shop in California during World War II (when the federal government leaned pretty heavily on employers to accept unions):

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NC Identity Theft Update - Judge Smacks Down Union Motion to Dismiss

Will Collins — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:04:40 -0400

In June, Foundation staff attorneys filed suit against Communications Workers of America (CWA) union officials on behalf of several North Carolina citizens. 16 current and former AT&T employees from Burlington, NC alleged that union operatives intentionally displayed their confidential information - including social security numbers - in a public forum, leaving them vulnerable to identity theft and fraud.

Union lawyers responded by filing a motion for dismissal, but the judge wasn't buying it. Although Judge Albert Diaz dismissed the invasion of privacy complaint filed against the union, he did not dismiss the Foundation's main charges under the North Carolina Identity Theft Protection Act and the the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Musician Unions Hit with Federal Lawsuit for Blacklisting Nonunion Orchestra Musicians

Will Collins — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:18:13 -0400

American Federation of Musicians (AFM) union bosses have a troubled history of intimidating nonmember musicians. Now the Foundation is suing several local affiliates in California to prevent future instances of union discrimination. Here's an excerpt from our latest press release:

VIDEO - Union Organizers On Card Check Intimidation: "Get the card signed... by hook or crook"

Patrick Semmens — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:55:06 -0400

Here's a telling video of former union organizers describing the pressure, intimidation and even outright dishonesty that goes into collecting cards for a card check.

Video: Don't Back Down

Will Collins — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:48:03 -0400

Workers from across the country have received free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation. Now they're speaking out to encourage others to stand up for their rights in this latest Right to Work video:

New Right to Work Video Report: Union Militants Display Nonmembers' Social Security Numbers

Nick Cote — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:02:28 -0400

Foundation attorneys have filed an unprecedented lawsuit in North Carolina state court on behalf of 16 AT&T employees against local union bosses who illegally released their confidential personal information (including their social security numbers) as retaliation for exercising their right to refrain from union membership. Two of the workers explain their battle in the latest Right to Work video report...

New Right to Work Video Report: Union Intimidation Meets Identity Theft

Will Collins — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:31:42 -0400

We've just released a mini video segment on the Foundation's ongoing efforts to hold union officials liable for a campaign of intimidation and harassment against Patricia Pelletier, a Connecticut worker who successfully initiated a decertification election to eject an unwanted union from her workplace. Union hotheads even planted crack cocaine in her work area to try to get her fired. Check it out:

Another Card-Check Myth Debunked

Will Collins — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:36:18 -0400

The National Association of Manufacturer's 'Shopfloor' blog has post up on another oft-repeated card-check myth. The entry starts out with Big Labor's favorite rejoinder to critics of the erroneously-titled "Employee Free Choice Act" (EFCA):

The most-common misleading response from organized labor to the criticism that the Employee Free Choice Act will destroy the secret ballot in the workplace goes like…well, here’s a recent example. It comes from Bill McCarthy, president of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation.

. . .

"The EFCA would give workers, not employers, the right to decide how to express the choice about going union: through the card-check process OR through the NLRB election process."

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Common Sense Says Card Check is a Bad Idea

Patrick Semmens — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:37:10 -0400

Here at Freedom @ Work, we often discuss card check by citing examples of employees being harassed, misled, or lied to by union organizers.

But simple common sense also says that when (often intimidating) individuals shove a piece of paper in your face, and tell you that it is in your interest to sign, you may well do it -- even if you aren't exactly sure what you are signing.

Case in point are two videos -- both done for television shows -- of people signing absurd petitions. In both cases, the signature collectors don't even lie to the people whose signatures they seek about what they are signing.

No Questions Please. Just Sign the Card

Patrick Semmens — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:38:12 -0400

Here's an interesting story (via EIA) from Nevada where teacher union officials are gathering signatures to put a massive tax increase on the ballot in November.

According to the Las Vegas Sun, union political operatives, who need to collect tens of thousands of signatures in order to put the tax hike on the ballot, are having trouble getting people to sign because "blockers" who oppose the tax increase are voicing their opposition to prospective signers during the collection process.