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Zimdahl Studio Helps SpreadRight to Work Message

IN THIS ISSUE

Vol. XXX, No. 4 8001 Braddock Road • Springfield, Virginia 22160 www.nrtw.org July/August 2010

The bi-monthly newsletter

of the National Right to Work

Legal Defense Foundation, Inc.

Flight AttendantsChallenge Big LaborPayback at NationalMediation BoardObama appointees changerules to push railway andairline employees intoforced union ranks

WASHINGTON, DC — A group ofDelta Air Lines flight attendants andcustomer service representatives, con-cerned about one of President BarackObama’s many political paybacks to BigLabor, has appealed to the NationalRight to Work Foundation for help.

As reported in the January/Februaryissue of Foundation Action, theNational Mediation Board (NMB) —charged with mediating labor disputeswithin the railroad and airline indus-tries — is by federal bureaucratic fiatstacking the deck in favor of forcedunionization of America’s railway andairline employees.

For decades, Big Labor demandedthe NMB grant them monopoly bar-gaining control over every worker in abargaining unit if a simple majority ofthose voting said yes to union organiz-ing. And while there are certain rightsthat should never be subject to an elec-tion, for 75 years the NMB required amajority of all workers to vote for unionbargaining. The Obama NMB is set to

change that.This would help union bosses

impose unionization without an actualmajority of employees ever showingsupport for a union, making it evenmore difficult for independent-mindedemployees to resist professionally coor-dinated union organizing drives.

Union officials appointedto board

In March 2009 President Obamaappointed to the three-member board asecond former union official of the veryunions pushing for the paybackscheme. And the Obama appointee-dominated NMB granted Big labor’swish. The previous NMB chairwomanexpressed complete dismay about themajority members’ collusion with theirformer union bosses.

When the Right to Work Foundation

Union Bosses Illegally ThreatenWorkers with Termination

Avoid Stock Market Uncertaintywith a Charitable Gift Annuity

Workers Take Stand AgainstTeamster Union Boss Intimidation

learned about theNMB’s under-the-radar attempt toinstitute yet anotherObama Big Labor

payback, Foundation attorneys submit-ted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)requests with the NMB and filed amotion seeking the recusal of the twoformer airline union officials from the

The Detroit News: Michigan willbenefit with workplace choice

Delta flight attendantAshton Therrel is partof a group of inde-pendent-mindedemployees who arebeing targeted forunionization by Biglabor bosses andtheir allies on theNational MediationBoard.

see WORKERS CHALLENGE SCHEME page 3

new approach toonline activismhas inspired Rightto Work support-ers to put even

more pressure on Big Labor’s cronypoliticians and helped spread the Rightto Work message to new audiences.

“We’re extremely happy with theprogress we’ve made with the NormaZimdahl Studio,” said PatrickSemmens, legal information directorfor the National Right to WorkFoundation. “The combination ofvideo technology and online socialmedia has helped introduce hundredsof thousands of new supporters to theRight to Work issue.”

National Right toWork videos pro-duced in theNorma ZimdahlStudio have beenviewed over half amillion times onYouTube and otheronline video sites.

2 Foundation Action July/August 2010

distribute videos explaining the dan-gers of Big Labor’s political agenda toan unprecedented audience.Foundation videos hosted on the pop-ular YouTube website — from ahumorous look at the Obama WhiteHouse’s too-close-for-comfort rela-tionship with Big Labor to videos ofRight to Work experts on Fox News —have been viewed by hundreds ofthousands of concerned citizens. This

SPRINGFIELD, VA — Thanks to gener-ous contributions from Right to Worksupporters, the Norma Zimdahl Studiohas helped the National Right to WorkFoundation reach hundreds of thou-sands of concerned citizens through cut-ting-edge video technology.

After an expansion and extensiverenovation, the studio has now nearlydoubled in size. Foundation staff mem-bers have also acquired a number of newpieces of video equipment, including arefinished backdrop and new lightingfor Right to Work video projects.

Among other projects, the new studioequipment has been used to record andedit videos of Foundation-assistedemployees explaining their oppositionto compulsory unionism.

‘New media’ technologyhelps spread Right to Workmessage

With the help of online social media,Right to Work staffers have been able to

Rev. Fred Fowler Chairman, Board of Trustees

Reed Larson Executive Committee Chairman

Mark Mix President

Ray LaJeunesse, Jr. Vice President and Legal Director

Patrick Semmens Director of Legal Information and Editor in Chief

The Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees

whose human or civil rights have been violated by abuses of compulsory unionism. All contributions

to the Foundation are tax deductible under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Distributed by theNational Right to Work Legal Defense and Education Foundation, Inc.

8001 Braddock Road, Springfield, Virginia 22160www.nrtw.org • 1-800-336-3600

Foundation Action

Zimdahl Studio Helps Spread Right to Work MessageFoundation videos have reached hundreds of thousands of concerned citizens

The generosity of Norma Zimdahl (pic-tured above) has allowed Right toWork to reach hundreds of thousandsthrough online videos.

July/August 2010 Foundation Action 3

workers in that class and craft… The lawis stacked up against the worker. We donot have the right ‘not to join’ a uniononce a union is voted in and once aunion is voted in they are here to stay asit is an impossiblefeat to vote themout.”

IAM and AFAunion chiefsundoubtedly aresalivating at theprospect that theywill now be able toforce Delta flightattendants and cus-tomer service work-ers to accept their unwanted “represen-tation” as a result of the NMB’s rulechanges, but first they will have to defeatFoundation attorneys and Delta workersin federal court and in the court of pub-lic opinion.

Foundation intervenes infederal suit

Providing free legal aid to the Deltaemployees, Foundation attorneys fileda motion to intervene in a federal law-suit brought forward by the AirTransport Association (ATA) that seeksto overturn the NMB’s dramatic rulechanges.

In their motion, Foundation attor-neys argue that the NMB’s new unionelection procedures are unconstitutionalbecause they violate workers’ rights offreedom of association and due process,especially when the union can onlydemonstrate support from a minority ofworkers in the class or craft.

Foundation attorneys also argue thatthe Obama appointees who approvedthe scheme, Harry Hoglander and LindaPuchala, should have recused them-

rule change proceedings.In addition, Foundation attorneys —

on behalf of America’s independent-minded employees — argued against thescheme at the NMB’s public hearing onthe changes. After the NMB’s publichearing, a courageous group of Deltaemployees led by Ashton Therrel — aflight attendant for 15 of his 26 yearswith the company — approachedFoundation attorneys.

Flight attendants to beherded under union control

Delta Air Lines flight attendants arejust one of the prominent groups in theindustry that have managed to stave offBig Labor’s monopoly unionism drives.International Association of Machinists(IAM) and Association of FlightAttendants (AFA) union organizershave for years unsuccessfully tried tocorral Delta flight attendants and otheremployees into their ranks.

Therrel noted that the AFA tried tounionize him and his Delta coworkersthree times since he became a flightattendant in April 1995. Meanwhile,IAM union organizers are makingunannounced “home visits” to Deltacustomer service workers.

The new transportation unionorganizing rules would make it nearlyimpossible for independent-mindedDelta employees to contend with BigLabor’s well-funded, professional organ-izing machine, particularly since unionorganizers run their campaigns acrossentire, usually-nationwide bargainingunits.

“I was extremely disappointed tolearn that the NMB had changed thevoting rule,” reflected Therrel. “I trulybelieve that the burden for representa-tion must be from the majority of the

selves because of their prejudgment ofthe regulations and their obvious con-flicts of interests.

Meanwhile, the Foundation’s legalinformation department exposed the

nefarious scheme inthe media, bringingto light Big Labor’ssneak attack onworkers in theAtlanta JournalConstitution, theW a s h i n g t o nExaminer, the DallasMorning News, withnationally syndicatedradio show host Neal

Boortz, and numerous other businessjournals and trade publications suchas the Washington Business Journaland Aviation Week.

Rule change delayed,Foundation prepared

On May 26, a federal U.S. DistrictCourt judge granted the Foundation’smotion to intervene on behalf of theDelta workers. On the same day, theNMB agreed to delay the scheduledimplementation of its controversialrule change for an additional 20 dayswhile the court considers a motion topreliminarily enjoin the new rulefrom taking effect.

“The Foundation is prepared todefend America’s railway and airlineemployees’ rights in federal courtagainst this unconscionable Big Laborpolitical payback scheme,” saidFoundation president Mark Mix. “Noone should ever be forced to acceptunwanted union boss ‘representation’and pay union dues in order to keeptheir job.”

Workers Challenge Scheme to Unionize Airline Industrycontinued from page 1

“The law isstacked upagainst theworker.”

4 Foundation Action July/August 2010

Union Bosses Illegally Threaten Workers with TerminationUnion bullies threatened employee for questioning union officials

LANSING, MI — With free legal assis-tance from the National Right to WorkFoundation, a Lansing worker is fight-ing back at the National LaborRelations Board (NLRB) against unionharassment. Robert Sherman, a DeanTransportation employee, filed chargesagainst the Dean TransportationEmployee Union (DTEU) in late May,alleging that union officials failed toprovide him with accurate informationabout his workplace rights and threat-ened to have him fired for refusing topay full union dues.

Although Sherman and several ofhis coworkers are not union mem-bers, Dean Transportation employ-ees are forced to accept the DTEU’s“representation”. And, becauseMichigan lacks a Right to Work law,Sherman can also be required to paycertain union dues just to keep hisjob.

Union officials issuethreats after keepingworkers in the dark

Under the Foundation-wonSupreme Court precedentCommunications Workers v. Beck,nonunion workers can only be forcedto pay dues related to workplace nego-tiations. Nonunion employees cannotbe forced to pay union dues or fees forthe purposes of lobbying, politicalactivism, or members-only activities.Federal law also requires union offi-cials to provide an independentlyaudited breakdown of union expendi-tures to help nonunion employeesdetermine which activities they can beforced to pay for.

Despite these requirements, DTEUofficials failed to provide Sherman and

other employees with informationabout union expenditures or their rightto pay less than full union dues.

In late April, DTEU officials sentSherman and other nonunionemployees a letter that threatened tohave them fired if they refused to payunion dues. In the face of unionthreats and obstruction, Sherman still

attempted to assert his Beck rights,but DTEU officials still refused to pro-vide him with any information aboutunion expenses. DTEU officialstold Sherman that he did not receiveinformation about his workplacerights because he expressed“anti-union views” and did not attendunion meetings.

Forced unionism abusehighlights need for Rightto Work laws

As ground zero for both the reces-sion and several Big Labor-dominat-ed industries, Michigan is a tellingexample of how unchecked forcedunionism hurts workers’ rights andeconomic growth. In the case ofRobert Sherman, unscrupulousunion bosses were able to extractforced dues and obscure his work-place rights because of the lack ofRight to Work protections.

“If union bosses are able todemand tribute from unwilling

workers as a condition ofemployment, there’s very littleto stop them from using thatmoney for political lobbying,activism, and other activitiesthat nonunion employeesmight object to,” said Ray

LaJeunesse, Legal Director andVice President for the National

Right to Work Foundation.State Right to Work laws ensure

that no worker can be forced topay union dues to get or keep ajob. In Right to Work states,union officials must rely on

monies paid by voluntary unionmembers to fund their activities.

“Workers shouldn’t be compelledto pay for union activitiesagainst their will,” continuedLaJeunesse. “Voluntary membershipand dues-payment keeps unionbosses accountable to their membersand ensures unwilling workers arenot dragooned into Big Labor’sranks.”

Lansing union bosses are shaking downworkers for forced dues, and threateningthe jobs of any worker who resists.

blogspot.com

July/August 2010 Foundation Action 5

In many issues of Foundation Action, as well asmailings to loyal Right to Work supporters, we havediscussed the many exciting ways you can set up yourestate planning goals while helping the Right to Workcause for the long haul. Not only can donors meet taxefficiency with a charitable gift to the Foundation, butthey can save on hefty estate tax bills in the future.

Through a strategic use of planned giving,Foundation donors can receive a steady incomestream and excellent tax benefits by considering aFoundation Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA).

Now is the time to act! Beginning in July, annuityrates will move slightly higher. Gift annuities offertax benefits and attractive payout rates to annuitantsage 65 or older. The amount of the guaranteed pay-ment — distributed either monthly, quarterly, orannually — is set for the rest of the annuitant’s life.The amount is based on the current age(s) of theannuitant(s) and the amount of the gift to the charity.

Generous Tax Savings NowBecause a portion of your gift annuity will be con-

sidered a charitable gift, you will be entitled to anincome tax deduction for the year of your gift. Inaddition, part of each payment may be received free ofincome tax or taxed at a lower capital gains rate for aperiod of time. The amount used to fund your giftannuity (with a minimum of $10,000) may also be freeof gift and estate taxes.

The Foundation maintains a partnership with

Single Life Annuity RatesEffective July 1, 2010

DONOR PAYOUTAGE RATE

65 years 6.0%70 years 6.3%75 years 6.9%80 years 7.7%85 years 8.6%90 & over 10.0%

Gift annuity rates are determined on the dateof the gift according to the age of the person

or persons who receive the payments,and according to the type of asset given.

Minium age 65 years or older with a $10,000 gift.

Avoid Stock Market Uncertainty with a Charitable Gift AnnuityHelp the Foundation battle forced unionism while gaining financial security

Here’s how a gift annuity works:• You irrevocably contribute a principal of $10,000, ormore, in exchange for a Foundation Gift Annuity;

• The Foundation makes monthly, quarterly, or annualannuity payments to you for the rest of your life.The amount of the payment depends on your currentage and the amount of your investment. Larger giftannuities give donors, and the Foundation, propor-tionately larger benefits. Once you have completed agift annuity, the payout rate will never change;

• As an itemizing taxpayer, you can receive a substan-tial charitable federal income tax deduction in theyear you establish your Right to Work FoundationGift Annuity. And, a portion of the payment youreceive back from the Foundation would be tax freeto you for a number of years;

• Finally, the Right to Work Foundation retains yourgift once you pass on. Your original gift (which mayhave even increased in value) is then available to sup-port the Foundation’s strategic litigation program inthe future.

Comerica Charitable Services Group and stands ready towork with any supporter who wishes to establish aCharitable Gift Annuity or any other form of plannedgift.

Remember, to participate you must be 65 years of ageand contribute a minimum of $10,000 toward yourFoundation Charitable Gift Annuity.

Of course, we recommend that our generous donorsconsult with their own tax or estate advisors before mak-ing a planned gift of any kind. The information con-tained in this article is, of necessity, general in nature.

If you are interested in a Foundation Charitable GiftAnnuity or any other planned gift, please call GinnySmith at 1-800-336-3600, Ext. 3303.

*Charitable Gift Annuities are not available in all states.

6 Foundation Action July/August 2010

F o u n d a t i o n ) .National Right toWork helps us with alot of things.”

With the help ofNational Right to Work Foundationattorneys, Allen and her coworkersforced the Teamster union bosses into asettlement. Unfortunately, the unionboss intimidation did not end there.

Teamster union bullies seekto stall worker election

True to form, Teamster union officialsbegan sending letters threatening certainAlan Ritchey employees, including Allenand May, with job loss if they did not jointhe union or declare again their non-member status within three days.

With help from the National Right toWork Foundation, Allen and May —acting for dozens of other similarly situ-ated employees — filed charges againstthe Teamster union bosses with theNational Labor Relations Board(NLRB).

After experiencing Teamster unionboss coercion and intimidation first-hand, a group of concerned employeesalso filed a petition seeking a deautho-

Big fish Teamsterunion boss JimmyHoffa’s bullies mettheir match withPatricia Allen, whosaid, “I don't feel likea little fish in a bigpond. Thank youNational Right toWork Foundation forbeing by OUR side.”

upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court inCommunications Workers v. Beck(1988), in which the Court affirmedemployees’ rights to refrain from for-mal union membership and pay areduced amount of forced dues.

Teamster union bossesthreaten workers withfirings

However, Teamsters Local 117union officials refused to allow theindependent-minded employees toexercise their Beck rights. Instead, theTeamster union hierarchy illegallythreatened to have the employees firedand confiscated an excessive amount of

forced dues from their paychecks,while refusing to follow federal dis-closure guidelines.

“Anyone that wants moneyfrom me and doesn’t explaineverything makes me wonder,”reflected Allen. “(We) did someresearch and found National Right

to Work. (We) read some articles andspoke with someone from (the

Workers Take Stand Against Teamster Union Boss IntimidationTeamster union thugs threaten independent workers with termination

SEATLLE, WA — Two courageousworkers who exercised their rights torefrain from full dues paying unionmembership are fighting back after aprolonged Teamster union boss cam-paign of intimidation and harassment.

Patricia Allen and Gayle May areemployees of Alan Ritchey, Inc. inAuburn, Washington and are forced toaccept the unwanted “representation” ofTeamsters Local 117 union bosses.

Allen, who performs many duties ather job, including auditing and inspect-ing inventory, filling orders and evenrunning heavy equipment, has workedat the mail transportation equipmentrepair and service center facility for 11years. She says, “I always love learningnew things. You can’t learn things if youdon’t ask to be taught.”

Forced unionism partisansassault independent-mind-ed workers

That love of asking questions andlearning new things probably came intoplay significantly when Allen and someof her coworkers started to becomemore aware of their workplace rights.

“(We) did some research and foundout we had options,” stated Allen. “(But)when we shared the news with others,all we got was harassment.”

“People mocking us behind ourbacks, name calling, someoneslashed the tire cover on mycar, saying things to us whensupervisors or managementweren’t around, (and even)physically being pushed,”added Allen.

Not to be dissuaded, thecourageous employees decided toexercise their Foundation-won rights see TEAMSTER INTIMIDATION page 8

July/August 2010 Foundation Action 7

Michigan will benefit with workplace choiceBy Mark Mix

For the first time in our nation’shistory, more union members workfor the government than in the pri-vate sector.In Michigan, the largest United

Auto Workers local union in thestate is now a government sectorunion, after the total number ofUAWmembers dropped 18 percentin the last year.Michigan’s economic climate

drives young workers to otherstates, and the unemployment rate,at more than 14 percent is amongthe highest in the nation. As organ-ized labor’s ranks shrink in the pri-vate sector, it increasingly turns tothe government to corral moreworkers.The most recent example is

Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s schemeto put 40,000 home-care providersinto “Child Care ProvidersTogether Michigan” (CCPTM), agroup run by the UAW andAmerican Federation of State,County, and Municipal Employees(AFSCME).The case exemplifies the need

for right-to-work protections,which allow workers to opt-out ofjoining a union. Just 15 percent ofeligible day-care providers partici-pated in the mail-in election, butCCPTM now bargains for morethan 40,000 Michigan home-careproviders.

No worker should be forced toassociate with or pay tribute to aunion just to get or keep a job, andpolls show that 80 percent ofAmericans agree.The media has widely reported

that nearly half of all Michiganpublic university graduates leavethe state to find work. The NationalInstitute for Labor RelationsResearch (NILRR) examined datacollected by the Census Bureauand found that none of the 13 states— Michigan included — with themost young workers fleeing toseek employment elsewhere haveRight to Work laws. Meanwhile,from 2000 to 2007, the eight stateswith the fastest growth of college-educated workers all protect theright to work.

Forced unionismalso leads to biggergovernment andhigher taxes.

Also, using statistics providedby the Bureau of Labor Statisticsand the Commerce Department,NILRR found that from 2004 to2009, workers and other people inRight to Work states saw their realpersonal income rise by 9.6 per-

cent, double the rate of forced-unionism states. When adjustingfor cost of living, residents in Rightto Work states have more dispos-able income and greater purchas-ing power.Forced unionism also leads to

bigger government and highertaxes. Every year, the non-partisanTax Foundation puts out a list ofevery state’s “Tax Freedom Day”— the day when the average work-er has earned enough money to payhis or her taxes for the year. Lastyear, that day came an average ofnine days earlier in Right to Workstates, increasing those workers’take home pay.But the benefits don’t end there.

Unions will have to be moreresponsive to the rank-and-file andjustify the benefits of dues pay-ments.Samuel Gompers, the founder of

the American Federation of Labor,understood this clearly when hesaid: “No lasting gain has evercome from compulsion.”A Right to Work law in

Michigan would put an end tocompulsion, and the state’s econo-my would reap the benefits.

Mark Mix is president of theNational Right to Work Legal

Defense Foundation.

8 Foundation Action July/August 2010

Message from Mark Mix

PresidentNational Right to WorkLegal Defense Foundation

Dear Foundation Supporter,

Last month, former union officials on the National Mediation Boardbrazenly revoked 75 years of precedent — eliminating the requirement thata transportation union demonstrate the support of a majority of all workersin a bargaining unit to become their monopoly agent.

The airline companies quickly sued, and union despots are defendingthis latest payback from their cronies in the Obama Administration.

But only the National Right to Work Foundation’s attorneys have theexperience and expertise to fight for the independent-minded rank-and-fileworkers victimized by this new forced unionism privilege granted to unionofficials.

In fact, Foundation attorneys were monitoring this threat since Obama’selection. Before the rule change, our experts testified and filed writtencomments stating our opposition to this forced unionism scheme. We alsofiled Freedom of Information Act requests seeking communicationsbetween the NMB partisans and their union boss allies.

And although the union officials on the NMB went ahead with theirplot, our efforts still paid off. The Delta Air Lines employees now repre-sented by Foundation attorneys turned to us for help when they heardabout our actions opposing the rule change from the very beginning.

You and I both know how difficult it is right now to stand up for free-dom in the workplace. The forced unionism proponents in the WhiteHouse and Congress are doing everything they can to stack the deckagainst independent minded workers and for that matter all of us.

That’s why we have to stay vigilant. With your help, we’ll continue andexpand our cutting-edge legal aid program.

After all, the Obama Administration wants to keep making sweetheartdeals with Big Labor behind closed doors. Together, we can expose themin the public light — and defeat them.

Thank you for your partnership in this important work.

Sincerely,

Mark Mix

rization election which would strip theTeamster union hierarchy of their forceddues privileges.

Fearing lack of support in theupcoming election, Teamster unionlawyers desperately sought to delay theemployee vote by responding to Allen’sand May’s charges with their owncharges against the Foundation. TheNLRB regional office in Seattle prompt-ly dismissed the union bosses’ frivolouscharges.

Workers’ charges lead tofederal prosecution

After reviewing Allen’s and May’s lat-est charges, the NLRB decided to prose-cute Teamsters Local 117 union officialsand issued a federal complaint againstthe union hierarchy for intimidating theindependent-minded employees. TheNLRB’s prosecution continues onAugust 3 before an NLRBAdministrative Law Judge.

“Independent-minded employeesshould not be forced to subsidizeTeamsters Local 117 union thugs whothreaten them with firings for exercisingtheir rights,” said Mark Mix, President ofthe National Right to Work Foundation.“That is why Washington needs a stateRight to Work law protecting workersfrom union boss intimidation andabuse.”

Teamster Intimidationcontinued from page 6

Newsclips RequestedThe Foundation asks supporters to

keep their scissors sharp for clippingnews items exposing the injustices offorced unionism in your local paper.

Please send clippings to:

NRTWLDFAttention: Newsclip Appeal

8001 Braddock Rd. . Springfield, VA 22160

Supporters can also email onlinestories to wfc@nrtw.org