Worker files NLRB complaint against Wisconsin painters union

By JIMMY NESBITT

Special to The Daily Reporter

A Wisconsin painter has filed federal labor charges with the National Labor Relations Board against the regional painters’ union, alleging officials unlawfully required her to join the union and pay dues as a condition of employment.

Caryn Johnson, an employee of Olympic Companies, alleges officials with International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 7 told her she had to be a dues-paying union member in order to be employed at Olympic Companies, according to a news release from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

Johnson also alleges that despite resigning her union membership, IUPAT continued to deduct dues from her wages, relying on a dues authorization form she says she was pressured to sign. According to the Foundation, union officials told Johnson she could not revoke the authorization for approximately eight months and would have to submit a written request during a designated revocation window.

Jeff Mehrhoff, business manager for IUPAT District Council 7, said the union complied with federal and state laws regarding membership and dues collection in its interactions with Johnson and believes the allegations filed with the NLRB are without merit. He said the union will cooperate with the agency’s review and expects to be cleared.

“We see this charge as nothing more than an attempt by the Virginia-based ‘National Right to Work for Less Committee’ to stay relevant in a time when Union approval ratings among Americans are nearly 68% and District Council 7’s membership has remained steady even in the face of the attacks by Wisconsin Republicans over the last decade,” Mehrhoff said. “We will cooperate fully in the process to clear our name of these baseless claims.”

Wisconsin is a right-to-work state, meaning workers cannot be required to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment. The charges were filed with the National Labor Relations Board with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

“Time after time, union officials turn to lies, threats, and coercion to expand their power and fill their coffers, rather than attempt to convince workers to voluntarily support union activities,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Ms. Johnson’s experience is not an isolated case, but is one Foundation staff attorneys see repeated across the country.”