In California, which lacks Right to Work protections for private sector workers, IAM union officials had previously been able to enforce contracts requiring employees like Pena to pay dues or fees as a condition of employment. The successful removal of the union means that Hansel Ford workers are no longer subject to these obligations.
Technicians at Parkway Ford in Dover also sought legal aid from Foundation staff attorneys to request a decertification election against IAM Local 1363 union officials. Ryan Graham led this effort by gathering signatures from a majority of his coworkers. Similar to California's case, IAM union bosses filed paperwork disclaiming interest before any vote could take place.
Ohio does not have Right to Work protections either, allowing IAM union officials to compel dues or fees from employees. Supreme Court precedents such as General Motors v. NLRB and Communications Workers of America v. Beck prohibit forcing workers into formal membership or paying for non-bargaining activities; however, many workers still prefer complete decertification of an unwanted union.
Additionally, mechanics at Brown Motors in Petoskey, Michigan recently voted in a "deauthorization election" against Teamsters union officials' forced-dues power—a measure similar but distinct from decertification aimed at ending forced-dues demands.
Decertification petition filings have increased by over 40 percent since 2020 according to NLRB data while worker interest in joining unions remains low. Despite this trend, new rules issued by the Biden-Harris NLRB may complicate efforts for rank-and-file workers wishing to vote out disapproved union officials through unverified "blocking charges."
"The employees from Ford dealerships in California and Ohio are just the latest examples of the many workers across the country who want to exercise their right to dissociate from union officials that they disapprove of," stated National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. "That the Biden-Harris NLRB is paring back this right shows that the current administration is interested in giving its union boss political allies more power...as opposed to defending those workers’ individual rights."
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