Portland-area Fred Meyer grocery store employee Robert Wendelschafer has filed federal charges against the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Local 555. According to the charges, union officials allegedly violated federal law by not honoring his request to resign from the union during a strike and retaliated against him by demanding nearly $1,000 for choosing to work.
Wendelschafer is among four employees, including Sandra Harbison, Coyesca Vasquez, and Reegin Schaffer, who have filed similar charges with National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 19. They received free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation in challenging what they claim is unlawful retaliation after refusing union strike orders last year.
The charge details that on August 30, 2024, Wendelschafer attempted to resign from the union and return to work. However, on December 18, he received a letter from union officials accusing him of violating internal UFCW rules by crossing the picket line and imposing a $992 fine.
Federal law states that if an employee is not a voluntary member of a union, they cannot be legally subjected to internal union discipline like fines. While UFCW officials quickly dropped illegal disciplinary actions in Schaffer’s case after her charges were filed in November, other cases remain unresolved.
In previous incidents involving UFCW-instigated strikes, workers faced similar fines that could only be contested within internal union courts. In Denver in 2022, King Soopers workers were fined amounts exceeding their daily earnings during a strike. These fines were eventually rescinded following successful legal challenges by Foundation attorneys.
Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation said: “UFCW union officials are again displaying their penchant for using strikes to consolidate power by threatening rank-and-file workers who exercise their legally-protected right to work despite a union boss-ordered strike.” He added that “workers have a clear legal right to resign from union membership and return to work without facing illegal fines or disciplinary actions,” assuring support for other Fred Meyer employees facing similar situations.
