Two nurses at an Ascension hospital in Michigan have filed unfair labor practice charges against their local union, claiming union leaders threatened to terminate them and others if they did not agree to have dues deducted directly from their paychecks.
The National Labor Relations Board is investigating charges filed by two nurses at Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc Township, Mich. They claim officials at Teamsters Local 332 threatened them, "and similarly situated employees with termination of their employment if they refused to complete and submit a dues check-off authorization by July 12th," according to a July 19 news release from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which filed the charges on behalf of the nurses.
"Ascension is aware of the recent unfair labor practice filing against Teamsters Local 332 by two Genesys nurses," a spokesperson for the St. Louis-based system said in a statement to Becker's. "This is a matter between union members and their chosen representation. We continue to focus on providing quality care to our patients."
Michigan's Right to Work law was repealed in February, and the decision gave unions legal authority to require workers to pay dues or fees as a condition of employment. Federal law still prohibits requiring workers to authorize direct deduction of dues from their paychecks, including in states without Right to Work protections.