A nonunion Fiat Chrysler worker has filed an unfair labor practice complaint alleging union dues were deducted from his paycheck illegally, according to Tuesday reports.
Fiat employee David Wiedbusch relinquished his membership to the The United Auto Workers (UAW) in October. He works at the Fiat plant in Michigan, a right-to-work state, but claims union dues were deducted from his paycheck. He filed a lawsuit against the union and automaker with help from the National Right to Work Foundation (NRTW).
“It is indefensible that more than three years after Michigan’s Right to Work laws were enacted, union bosses are still refusing to accept that they no longer have privileges that allow them to confiscate a portion of a worker’s paycheck against their will,” NRTW President Mark Mix said in a statement. “No worker should ever be forced to pay union dues or fees just to get, or keep, a job.”
Michigan became a right-to-work state in 2012. The policy outlaws mandatory union dues or fees as a condition of employment. Wiedbusch submitted a written request to resign in October from the union and the automatic deductions stopped. That changed when Wiedbusch noticed in late December and early January, the union dues were once again being deducted from his pay.
NRTW is a worker choice advocacy group that offers free legal assistance to workers struggling to leave their union. The National Labor Relations Board is now tasked with investigating the complaint.
The passage of the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act first allowed states to decide whether they want to be right-to-work. West Virginia became the 26th right-to-work state when it passed the law Feb. 12. Labor unions, for the most part, adamantly oppose the policy.
Fiat and the UAW did not respond to requests for comment from The Daily Caller News Foundation.
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