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For Release: Friday, November 10, 2006

Judge Dismisses “Right To Work” Lawsuit Against UAW, Freightliner; Says Card-Check Agreements Are Legal And Proper

U.S. District Judge Graham C. Mullen has dismissed a lawsuit against the UAW and Freightliner LLC, filed by attorneys from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

The lawsuit, which was dismissed due to the plaintiff’s failure to state a proper legal claim, is the latest in a series of unsuccessful attempts by Right to Work attorneys to overturn majority rule at Freightliner facilities where workers have decided in favor of union representation.

“You can’t use the courts to overturn democracy. It’s as simple as that,” said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. “Since 2003, a majority of workers at seven Freightliner facilities in three states have chosen to form their own unions. The Right to Work Foundation refuses to respect the results, but the courts have made it clear that they cannot misuse the law to further their political agenda, which is to eliminate unions so that employers can have unlimited power in the workplace.”

The Right to Work lawsuit alleged that the UAW and Freightliner had engaged in a “racketeering” conspiracy, by negotiating a card-check agreement which allowed workers at the company’s manufacturing facilities a free choice about union representation.

“Participation of unions and employers in card-check programs is proper and has never [been] held to be illegal,” wrote Mullen, who was appointed to the federal bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. “If the court were to find that participation in card-check agreements was illegal, it would have the effect of criminalizing all collective-bargaining agreements. … It is inconceivable that Freightliner and the UAW’s participation in the card-check agreement was a felony.”

“The Right to Work Foundation has tried every tactic against workers at Freightliner, and they’ve failed every time,” said Gary Casteel, director of UAW Region 8, which includes North Carolina and 11 other Southeastern states.

“At Thomas Built Buses, for example, they filed objections to our card-check election, so we won a second election. Then they filed complaints about the second election, and those complaints were rejected by the National Labor Relations Board. Then they sued the NLRB and that suit was thrown out of court. Then they sued us and the company, and now that suit has been thrown out of court.”

“At some point, the contributors to this organization are going to have to start wondering if they are getting their money’s worth,” said Casteel. “These legal actions have no merit, which is why they have failed repeatedly in court.”

“They’re probably going to turn around and file another lawsuit tomorrow,” said Niels Chapman, president of UAW Local 5287, which represents workers at Thomas Built Buses. “But they’re not going to turn us around. We’ve negotiated a good contract, we’re improving our workplace and we’re building great buses. We’re not distracted by frivolous lawsuits because we’re focused on a positive future for our plant.




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