Farms: Pennsylvania KAOLIN FARMWORKERS EJECT UNWANTED UNION
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KAOLIN FARMWORKERS WIN LEGAL VICTORY UPHOLDING THEIR DECISION TO EJECT UNWANTED UNION Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court rules that unwilling employees can’t be trapped in union for seven years Hello and welcome to today’s Right to Work Legal news update Pennsylvania Kaolin Mushroom Farms employees and their vote to decertify Thanks to the efforts of National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court unanimously ratified Kaolin Mushroom Farms employees vote to remove the Kaolin Workers Union (KWU). Union lawyers’ legal maneuvering and a Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) Secretary delayed the vote and ratification of the vote to decertify the farmworkers’ union. In September 2014, Kaolin Farms employee Roberto Morales filed a decertification petition because he and his coworkers were dissatisfied with the union and wished to hold a vote to remove the KWU. A Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) Secretary initially dismissed the petition on the grounds that the union’s presence could not be challenged for a seven-year period after its contract with the employer was adopted. According to the Secretary, this “contract bar” would remain in force until October 2, 2016, the earliest date an election could be held under that bar. Right To Work Foundation staff attorneys helped Morales file an objection with the full Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, arguing that unwilling employees shouldn’t be kept in union ranks for such a lengthy period and that there is no basis in Pennsylvania law for the seven-year contract bar. The Labor Relations Board eventually agreed and decided to hold a secret ballot decertification election in March 2015. In the election, Kaolin Farms employees rejected the union by a significant margin. Union lawyers countered the election defeat by filing objections and again argued that a vote could not be held until after the seven-year contract bar had expired. A Pennsylvania Court unanimously rejected the union lawyers' arguments that the employees could be denied a vote to oust the union for such a long time. Instead, the court declared after three years passed, a union cannot block a decertification vote by employees seeking to remove the union. The Foundation’s efforts establish another bright line for employees in Pennsylvania labor law. Thank you for watching today’s update. If you have concerns and feel your protections against forced unionism in Pennsylvania, or in any of the other states, have been violated, please contact the Foundation for free legal assistance call 800-336-3600 or on the Web at NRTW.org. National Right To Work Legal Defense Foundation is a 501C(3) charity funded by people like you, please visit http://righttoworkfoundation.org/fwebdonate.aspx to donate. Need legal assistance? Please visit http://www.nrtw.org/en/legal.htm for more information.