Posts tagged termination
86-Year-Old Veteran Files Federal Charges Against UFCW Union for Causing his Illegal Firing from Part-Time Grocery Job
September 30, 2026 // With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation, an 86-year-old veteran who worked part-time at Village Market in Oakland has filed federal charges at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 (UFCW) union. The charge says UFCW 5 union officials illegally had Phil Holland fired in early September claiming he owed thousands of dollars in back dues and fees. Holland, a Navy veteran with 30 years’ of experience in law enforcement, who also works part-time as a YMCA fitness instructor, was hired by the Village Market grocery store that he shopped at for 30 years in February of 2022 after he noticed a “help wanted” sign in the window. During his first four years of employment, UFCW Local 5 union officials never contacted him, never asked him to pay union dues or fees, and never notified him of his legal rights under the 1988 Foundation-won CWA v. Beck Supreme Court decision, which protects employees from being required to pay full union dues for activities unrelated to union bargaining like union-boss political activism.
Chicago History Museum workers ratify first union contract
August 28, 2026 // In May, the National Labor Relations Board issued a rare formal complaint, alleging that under the museum’s previous president, Donald Lassere, management retaliated against employees who voted to unionize in 2025. Shortly after that vote, four employees were fired, while others were disciplined or threatened with termination, according to the NLRB. The board found the museum violated federal labor laws.
Union picketing continues outside Hometown Harvest Foods amid labor dispute
August 23, 2026 // Former employees and union members continue picketing outside Hometown Harvest Foods after new ownership took over, wanting a conversation with the store's owner about the workers who were let go.
Over 80 University of Maryland workers laid off amid budget concerns
June 6, 2026 // The school was one of two in Prince George's County that warned of job cuts after reporting financial struggles following Maryland's approved education budget for FY 2027, which began on June 1 and included an additional roughly $370 million in funding for schools statewide. For UMD specifically, leaders projected a revenue decrease of $15 million, with energy costs increasing by $18 million tallied onto more than $104 million in cumulative reductions to its state-funded base budget, according to a statement.
OPINION NLRB’s Pro Labor Bent OK with Sexist, Racist, Abusive Behavior
June 2, 2026 // Imagine if my co-worker called me a "gutter b****," "crack-head a**," and a "crack hoe." How about a male colleague calling me a "whore" and exposing his privates to me? Or let’s say a co- worker on strike yelled to me and others, "Go back to Africa, you bunch of f****** losers," and "f****** n***** scabs"? Should any of this behavior be tolerated by our employer? All of these are real, recent occurrences against women and Blacks at the hands of their union organizing colleagues, as the Institute for the American Worker catalogued.
Veolia Environmental Services Employee Slams Teamsters With Federal Charges for Illegal Termination Threats
February 2, 2026 // An employee of medical waste management firm Veolia Environmental Services has just hit Teamsters Local 63 union officials with federal charges, maintaining that union officials threatened to have her fired for refusing to join the union. The employee, Alexus Villanueva, also charges Teamsters bosses with unlawfully forcing her to pay full union dues, including dues for union political activities, via paycheck deduction.
Pennsylvania EMT/Rescue Workers File Second Petition for ‘Decertification’ Vote to Remove Teamsters Local 205
October 15, 2025 // Shannon Martin, an employee of North Huntingdon EMS/Rescue, has filed a second petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking a “decertification” election to remove Teamsters Local 205 union officials as the employees’ “representative.” Martin is receiving free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
USDA moves to end employee union contracts, documents show
August 17, 2025 // The U.S. Department of Agriculture moved to terminate union contracts with thousands of employees of its animal health and food safety inspection agencies, according to documents seen by Reuters, as one union on Wednesday challenged the firings in court. The notices sent to union leaders at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Food Safety and Inspection Service on Tuesday evening said the action was aligned with President Donald Trump's March executive order to exclude some federal workers from collective bargaining because their agencies have national security missions, the documents show.
Unionized Berkeley REI Workers Get Pay Raises After Labor Board Alleged They Were Shut Out
August 7, 2025 // Following a years-long organizing effort, some workers at a Berkeley REI store are set to get retroactive pay raises and bonuses as part of a labor deal with two unions representing workers at 11 stores across the country. The agreement reached last week between REI Co-op, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union — which represents the Berkeley workers — and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union establishes a national bargaining structure for unionized workers that provides compensation some workers previously did not receive between 2022 and 2024.
Goldwater Backs Proposal to Rein in Federal Bureaucracy
June 1, 2025 // Goldwater Institute submitted a formal public comment to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in support of a Trump Administration proposal to reclassify thousands of federal employees with policy-influencing roles to at-will employment status. The Institute’s comment makes clear that this is an encouraging step forward to ensure accountability in government, and when necessary, rein in abuses in the federal bureaucracy. States like Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Texas, Utah, and Florida have classified state workers as at-will employees for years. As the Institute noted in its letter, “oversight and accountability are central features of efficient management practices for government employees,” both at the state and federal levels.