A group of workers at the Holcim Millville Quarry in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, have taken steps to remove the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) Local DNCL from representing them. Curtis Mills, an employee at the quarry, filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a decertification election after gathering signatures from a majority of the approximately 36 employees in the bargaining unit. The petition was submitted with legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation.
The NLRB is responsible for overseeing elections that determine whether unions will represent workers or be removed from their role as representatives. Mills’ petition calls for a secret ballot election among drivers, loaders, maintenance staff, and laborers at the facility to decide if IBB Local DNCL officials should continue their representation.
“Many of us are not happy with the union and feel it is time for a change to reclaim our voices,” said Mills. “Though the NLRB is currently closed, we hope they will open soon so we can exercise our right to vote out this unwanted union.”
West Virginia has a Right to Work law that prevents workers from being fired for refusing to pay union dues or fees. However, unions can still act as exclusive bargaining agents for all employees at a workplace unless decertified by a majority vote.
The National Right to Work Foundation has previously been involved in defending worker rights in West Virginia. Foundation attorneys participated in legal efforts related to challenges against West Virginia’s Right to Work law. The state Supreme Court ultimately upheld this law, referencing the U.S. Supreme Court decision Janus v. AFSCME, which confirmed that public sector employees nationwide cannot be compelled to support unions financially as part of their First Amendment rights.
“Mills and his coworkers have filed a majority-backed petition to free themselves from union officials’ so-called ‘representation,’ but ejecting an unwanted union is often far harder than it should be,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Overly complex rules, including NLRB-invented ‘bars’ to decertification, contribute to the fact that a recent study found that just one in 20 employees has ever voted for the union that purports to represent them.
“The Foundation is proud to assist a growing number of workers seeking to throw off the chains of unions they oppose,” Mix added. “Ultimately, though, full worker freedom will only be accomplished when no worker anywhere can be forced under a union monopoly against their will.”
