Teamsters threatened us for not authorizing paycheck deduction, nurses allege

Two nurses at Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against the Teamsters union for unfair labor practices, according to Jacob Comello of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

Madrina Wells and Lynette Doyle say Teamsters Local 332 threatened to get them fired if they did not sign forms authorizing the union to deduct dues from their paychecks.

The federal labor agency will investigate the complaints filed in July on behalf of the two nurses. Federal law forbids unions from forcibly extracting dues directly from workers’ paychecks without consent.

A favorable finding for the nurses would likely result in new signs in the hospital, said Comello, media coordinator for the foundation. The signs would say that a union may not require workers to sign a dues deduction authorization form as a condition of employment. The board may also require Teamsters officials to undergo training about labor law, Comello said to Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email.

The two nurses told the foundation that the Teamsters threatened other nurses. The union did not respond to an email from CapCon seeking comment.

“I already had issues with Teamsters bosses illegally demanding money from me when right-to-work was in force,” Wells told the foundation. “Back then, I at least knew that I was defending my right to pay nothing at all to Teamsters bosses I disapprove of. It’s ridiculous that they now have the power to force me to pay them, but I’ll defend what rights I do have.”

As of February 2024, most workers in Michigan are not covered by a right-to-work law. Public sector workers in Michigan and other states are, however, protected from being forced to join their employer’s union, thanks to the 2018 Supreme Court ruling Janus v. AFSCME.

Private sector employees who work in a unionized private sector organization cannot be forced to join a union. They can, however, be forced to pay an agency fee if they do not become members and are bound by a union contract with their employer.

Agency fees cover a union’s expenses for collective bargaining, which it performs for all employees. Fees are based on union dues but exclude payments for a union’s political expenses.

The foundation provides free legal aid to people who believe their employment rights were violated. The organization has seen more Michigan residents ask for help since the state repealed its right-to-work law, Comello told CapCon.

Patrick Semmens, vice president of the foundation, called the repeal “a supreme example of Michigan legislators propping up their own political agenda instead of protecting a commonsense law that simply let workers choose for themselves whether union bosses had earned a cut of their paycheck.”

The health system knows about the complaint, Mac Walker, the director of media relations for Ascension, told CapCon.

”Ascension is aware of the recent unfair labor practice filing against Teamsters Local 332 by two Genesys nurses,” Walker wrote in an email. “This is a matter between union members and their chosen representation. We continue to focus on providing quality care to our patients.”