In Michigan, Foundation staff attorneys are providing legal aid to Johnson Controls (JCIM) Grand Rapids employees who want the UAW union hierarchy removed as the monopoly bargaining agent. Meanwhile UAW union organizers are attempting to force their way into JCIM’s Holland plant:

Grand Rapids, MI (December 23, 2008) – With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a Johnson Controls (JCIM) employee at the Talon Court facility in Kentwood has filed a decertification petition seeking an election to oust the United Auto Workers (UAW) union as the JCIM workers’ monopoly bargaining agent.

The development is another blow to the UAW union hierarchy which has taken a major public relations hit in recent months because of its role in driving the Big Three automakers to the brink of bankruptcy.

JCIM worker Dawn Lambert filed the decertification petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which should conduct a secret-ballot election to determine whether or not a majority of the workforce wants to retain the UAW union as their monopoly bargaining agent. Under federal labor law governing the private sector, once the NLRB grants union officials monopoly bargaining status, it is illegal for any present or future employees – whether they are members of the union or not – to negotiate with their employer for themselves unless they can prove that the union hierarchy does not retain majority support.

Because a clear majority of the employees at the Talon Court facility in Kentwood have expressed their intent to remove the UAW, National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys have also sent a letter to JCIM management demanding that they cease further contract negotiations and also withdraw recognition of what is now a minority union. Under the law, recognizing and negotiating with a union that does not have majority support is an unfair labor practice.

Read the rest of the Foundation's press release here.

In this week's episode, Foundation VP Stefan Gleason sits down with Stanley Greer, Senior Research Director at the National Institute for Labor Relations Research, to discuss the proposed $25+ billion auto industry and UAW union bailout, and the close connection between compulsory unionism and Detroit's economic woes. Check it out:

Click here to download this episode

You can also listen to the Foundation's podcast via iTunes or manually subscribe to the feed.

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Interested in learning about the connection between the Big Three auto bailout and compulsory unionism? Check out the latest Right to Work video:

The UAW has consistently leveraged its position as the Big Three's monopoly bargaining agent to extend forced unionism throughout the automotive sector. Now they're screaming for a federal bailout to save the entire industry. Should government really be in the businesses of saving compulsory unionism?

The answer, of course, is no. Forced unionism should be eliminated, not subsidized.

In Michigan where the economy is already in ruins, the Grand Rapids Press highlights warnings from University of Michigan economist Don Grimes about the nationwide UAW strike:

“It's not exactly what the state needs right now,” said University of Michigan economist Don Grimes. “You've got a train wreck in Detroit and a train wreck in Lansing. It's like a perfect storm.”

“The workers will be getting $200 a week in strike pay,” he said. “Before, they were earning $1,500 a week in pay.”

A $1,300 per-week pay cut is an awful lot to ask of these workers who have families to support. Meanwhile, GM looks to lose nearly $100 million per day due to the loss of production.

Looks like UAW bosses are hitting everyone where it hurts the most: their wallets.

Fall is the time of year when car companies release their new model automobiles. It also is the time of year when United Auto Worker union bosses release their list of so-called “union made” cars – with the hope that the label will attract consumers.

Of course, the UAW International union officials aren’t actually making anything. Rather by “union-made” they mean that the rank-and-file workers who make the cars are forced to affiliate with the union and those in non-Right to Work states are forced to pay dues.

For many, such a list has the opposite effect, as nearly 80 percent of Americans oppose the injustice of forced union dues and compulsory unionism.

So for those who want to support American workers who are not forced to affiliate with or pay dues to a union, here is a list of cars assembled at compulsory unionism-free auto plants here in America:*

• Acura: TL
• BMW: X5, Z4 Roadster
• Honda: Accord, Civic, Element, Odyssey, Pilot
• Hyundai: Sante Fe, Sonata
• Infiniti: QX56
• Mercedes: GL-Class, M-Class, R-Class
• Nissan: Altima, Armada, Frontier, Maxima, Pathfinder, Quest, Titan, Xterra
• Subaru: B9 Tribeca, Baja, Legacy, Outback
• Toyota: Avalon,Camry, Sequoia, Sienna, Solara, Tundra

*Note: Determining the suppliers of parts of every car is very difficult. The above list is of cars assembled at facilities where our research indicates that a union does not have a monopoly bargaining power over individual employees. If you want to ensure that the parts of your car are not produced by employees forced to affiliate with a union, we encourage you to do your own research and let us know your results.