WILLIMANTIC – Windham Community Memorial Hospital employees who were represented by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 5099 union are now free of that union following an April 7 decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certifying a vote to “decertify” the union in a February secret ballot vote.
The decertification effort was spearheaded by Windham Hospital employee Sara Doner, who received free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys during the decertification process.
NLRB Region 1 certified the election results, officially ending AFT union bosses’ exclusive monopoly representation of the Windham Community Memorial Hospital employees. (The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the National Labor Relations Act, a task that includes administering elections to install and remove unions.)
Days after the landslide 168-70 vote to remove the union, AFT filed objections with the NLRB, seeking to overturn the workers’ election result. However, AFT union officials soon reversed course and dropped their objections.
WCMH United Employees Local 5099 (AFT CT, AFL-CIO) represents approximately 300 healthcare workers at Windham Community Memorial Hospital at 112 Mansfield Ave. in Willimantic.
As in the case at Windham Community Memorial Hospital, compulsory unionism refers to labor policies requiring employees to join a union or pay dues as a condition of employment, often termed “union shops” or “agency shops.” Under federal law, union officials can achieve exclusive bargaining rights for all employees, which opponents argue violates individual freedom. These practices are prohibited in 27 “Right to Work” states.
Connecticut is one of 24 states that lack Right to Work protections for workers, which means that prior to the decertification, AFT union bosses were empowered to impose monopoly bargaining contracts that force employees to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. By contrast, in Right to Work states, union membership and union financial support are strictly voluntary.
“Headed by longtime top boss Randi Weingarten, the AFT is best known for the divisive role union officials have played undermining student and taxpayer interests in the classrooms of public schools nationwide,” said National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “While lesser known, the targets of AFT union boss coercion also include thousands of healthcare providers.
“We are pleased to have been able to assist this group of hundreds of Windham Community Memorial employees as they exercise their legal right to send AFT union bosses packing, and we encourage anyone else – whether educator or healthcare worker – trapped under AFT control they oppose to reach out for legal aid.”
