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Sarah Warthemann, a nurse at Kaiser Permanente in Woodland Hills, has filed federal charges against the United Nurses Association of California (UNAC) union. She claims that UNAC officials threatened her job if she did not join the union and ignored her attempt to opt out of paying for union political expenses. The charges were filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), with legal assistance from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
The NLRB enforces federal labor law, including workers' rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act to refrain from union activities. Warthemann's charge is based on CWA Union v. Beck, which prohibits requiring non-members to fund union ideological activities. Additionally, General Motors v. NLRB forbids requiring formal membership as an employment condition.
In California, not a Right to Work state, UNAC can enforce contracts requiring dues payment for employment, but Beck limits this to bargaining functions only. In contrast, states like Arizona and Nevada make all union support voluntary.
