Alerts Sign-up
AT&T BellSouth Communications employee Amanda Marc has filed federal charges against the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union and its local affiliates, alleging illegal restrictions on her and her coworkers’ rights to opt out of union dues payments. Marc's charges were filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with support from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
The NLRB, responsible for enforcing federal labor law, will investigate Marc’s claims that CWA union’s “window period” restrictions limit workers to just ten days per year to request cessation of dues deductions. Marc seeks a ruling that this practice is unlawful under federal labor law.
Marc argues that while federal labor law allows dues deduction authorization documents to be irrevocable for one year after signing, any further restrictions violate the National Labor Relations Act. In Florida, a Right to Work state, CWA unions cannot force workers to pay dues as a condition of employment. However, in non-Right to Work states, employees can be compelled to pay fees or face termination.
