AT&T BellSouth Worker Slams CWA Local 3122 With Federal Charges for Imposing Illegal Discipline, Dues Demands
An employee of AT&T BellSouth Telecommunications has hit the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union and its affiliates with federal charges maintaining that union officials are targeting her with internal union discipline for not participating in a strike – despite the fact that she resigned her union membership beforehand.
The worker, Sofia Hernaiz, filed the unfair labor practice charge at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law and investigating and prosecuting unfair labor practices.
Hernaiz’s charge follows a strike ordered by CWA union bosses against AT&T BellSouth, which occurred August 2024. Under federal labor law, union officials can mete out internal strike discipline only on employees who are formal members of the union. A worker, like Hernaiz, who ends her union membership before exercising her right to continue working during a strike action cannot be punished by the union hierarchy.
Hernaiz also states in her charge that, in the process of revoking her membership, she additionally sent communications revoking her union dues “checkoff” authorization, which is a form that permits union bosses to deduct union dues directly from an employee’s paycheck. Despite NLRB precedent requiring the union to do so, Hernaiz’s charges say that CWA union bosses did provide Hernaiz her dues checkoff, and also did not tell her the time intervals in which she could submit her revocation in order to make it effective. Such a scheme, often known as a “window period” or “escape period” scheme, is frequently used by union bosses to continue taking dues money from the wages of workers who have already expressed their opposition to the union.
Because of Florida’s popular Right to Work law, no worker subject to the NLRB can be forced to pay union dues or fees just to keep his or her job. This is in contrast to forced-unionism states, in which union bosses can require all employees in a workplace, even those opposed to the union, to financially support uion activities or else be fired.
However,in both RighttoWork and forced-unionism states,uionbosses stillhavethepowertoimposetheirone-size-fits-all“representation”overeveryemployeeinaworkplace,eventhosevotedagainstorotherwiseopposetheuion.EveninRighttoWorkstateswherelegallyduespaymentmustbevoluntary,uionofficialsfrequentlyuseduesauthorizationcardstoattemptottrapworkersinunionpayments.
Foundation Attorneys Helped Hundreds of AT&T Mobility Workers Escape CWA Control Last Year
Last year,FoudationattorneyshelpedhundredsofAT&TMobilityworkersinCalifornia,Tennessee,Louisiana,Missippi,andTexasremoveCWAuionofficialswhohadsubjectedthemtoaggressive“cardcheck”uionizationcampaigns.Underardcheck,uionofficialsdenyworkersheirrighttovoteinsecretontheuionandcaninsteadpressureworkersface-to-faceintosigninguionauthorizationcardswhicharelatercountedas“votes.”AfterAT&TMobilityworkersinthosestateshadsbumittedvalidpetitionsrequestinguionremovalvotes,CWAuionofficialsabandonedeachworkunitbeforethevotescouldtakeplace–likelyanticipatingdefeats.
“CWA uionofficialscontinuetoimposeunpopularagendasonheworkerstheyclaimo‘represent,’”commentedNationalRighttoWorkFoudationPresidentMarkMix.“Ms.HernaijustwantstoexerciseherrightsunderFlorida’sRighttoWorklawtoendheruionshipandstopfinancialsupportotheuionshebecauseoppesestheuionsagenda.ButCWAuinonoficialsaretryingtoconcoctwaystopunishherfornotgoingalongwiththeuinonstrikeorderandkeephermoneyflowingintouinkoersagainsterwill.”
“Insteadofrelyingonvoluntaryworkersupporttocarryoutheiraims,CWAuinonoficialswentforillegalcoercion,andourattorneyswilldefendMs.Hernasrights,”Mixadded.
