Workers at an Alabama plant will be voting for a fourth time to remove their union after the previous attempt was deemed invalid after allegations of ballot stuffing.
On Jan. 16, 2015, after the first two rounds of votes were dismissed, employees for NTN-Bower Corporation voted for a third time on whether to remove the United Auto Workers. After the UAW won the vote, the National Labor Relations Board determined the results were invalid.
“Even though 139 workers voted in the third election out of the 140 eligible, 148 ballots were cast,” the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation said in a statement.
NRTW is helping to represent one of the company employees, Ginger Estes, who brought the union meddling to the attention of the NLRB after the third election. Estes, along with other employees at the plant, were the ones who requested a decertification election with the NLRB back in 2013.
“After workers cast ballots in the first election, union and company officials agreed to set aside that election and allow the workers to vote in a second election,” NRTW detailed. “In the second election, workers voted to remove the union by a margin of two votes.”
But Estes wasn’t the only party to complain: The union had issues with the previous election. Union officials challenged the results of the second election resulting in a 2-1 vote by the NLRB to invalidate the results and schedule a third election, which Estes contested.
An official for NRTW noted to The Daily Caller News Foundation, “Oftentimes you find that union officials will file charges with the NLRB to block the elections and the Obama Labor Board is usually happy to oblige.”
The NLRB detailed in the decision, “Two days before the second election, Plant Manager Rufus McMillan held a series of captive audience meetings, which were attended by the entire workforce.”
“The credited testimony of multiple witnesses establishes that during these meetings, McMillan repeatedly told employees that Hamilton was the Employer’s only unionized facility, that employees at the plant had not received a raise in over a year, and that employees at the Employer’s Macomb, Illinois facility made more money than they did,” the NLRB also noted. “The hearing officer found that McMillan’s comments constituted an implied promise of higher pay if employees decertified the Union.”
Mark Mix, president of NRTW, said in a statement, “This is a good example of a rigged election characterized by obvious ballot box stuffing and mishandling of ballots.”
“This case underscores the difficulty workers often experience when trying to remove unwanted unions from their workplaces,” Mix continued.
The UAW has represented employees at the NTN-Bower plant since 1976. The decertification petition was filed with the NLRB on May 22, 2013. The results of the fourth election will likely be announced on Feb. 20, 2015, the same day as the election.
TheDCNF could not reach the UAW for additional comment.
Editor’s Note: This copy was updated on Feb. 18 to reflect that accusations of ballot-stuffing against the union are alleged.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.