San Antonio airport fuel workers oust union from workplace

Fueling employees with Allied Aviation Fueling Company of San Antonio ousted the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), District 142, from their workplace with the assistance of the National Right to Work Foundation. The foundation provides free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism. 

It’s the second NRWF assisted union ousting from a major workplace in Texas in two weeks. 

Texas is a right to work state, which prohibit unions from enforcing contracts that require employees to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. In Texas, union membership and dues payments are strictly voluntary.  

Despite this, under federal law in right to work and non-right to work states, union officials are allowed to impose “representation” on workers in a work unit, regardless if they want to be represented by the union. In this case, the IAM claimed AAFC employees were subject to the Railway Labor Act, which overrides worker protections against forced dues provided by state Right to Work laws. 

After a landmark 2019 National Labor Relations Board decision in a case won by the NRWF, workers who want to remove union officials from their place of employment can do so by submitting a majority-backed petition asking their employer to stop recognizing the union. The NLRB enforces federal labor law in the private sector and administers elections to install (certify) or remove (decertify) unions from workplaces.

In the AAFC case, fuel workers who operate and maintain the fueling facilities at the San Antonio International Airport filed a petition for a decertification election earlier this month. AAFC employee Matthew Garwood led the petition, which was filed with the NLRB in Washington, D.C. The majority of fuel workers signed the petition, far surpassing the 30% threshold of signatures needed for the NLRB to schedule a decertification vote. 

Instead of fighting the vote, and before the vote was scheduled, IAM District 142 union bosses formally “disclaimed interest” in the bargaining unit, withdrawing their claim of monopoly bargaining powers over the workers. IAM union officials also didn’t defend their position that AAFC employees were covered by the Railway Labor Act before the NLRB.

As a result, approximately 38 airline fueling workers are free to negotiate directly with their employer. 

“The IAM was not negotiating in our best interests,” Garwood said in a statement. “We are grateful to have regained control over our workplace after being confronted with a poorly-written contract that negatively impacted employees in multiple ways and threatened us with forced dues just to stay employed.”

“Union bosses have no shortage of tricks to use when trying to maintain their stranglehold on hardworking Americans’ paychecks, but in this case, the workers of Allied Aviation made their will abundantly clear,” NRWF President Mark Mix said. “We are grateful to have assisted these workers as they exercised their rights, and especially pleased that they were able to regain their workplace so quickly.

“Cases like these demonstrate why all hardworking Americans need Right to Work protections to ensure union affiliation and financial support is strictly voluntary, including those who might fall under the jurisdiction of the Railway Labor Act because they work in the railroad or airline industry.”  

It’s the 13th case the NRWF has won, won in part, or favorably settled in Texas since Jan. 1, 2023.  

Earlier this month, Texas Public Radio employees decertified the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, removing them from their workplace, The Center Square reported.

NRWF also helped crude oil drivers for Sunoco Logistics Partners successfully remove United Steelworkers union bosses from their place of employment in four states, including in Texas, The Center Square reported.

These cases exclude NRWF assisting Dallas-based Southwest Airlines flight attendant Charlene Carter, who sued after being discriminated against for her religious beliefs. After a nine-year legal battle, she won a $1 million judgment in April, The Center Square reported. 

The case is ongoing related to sanctions the judge imposed on the airline. Carter is still being forced to pay union dues 13 years after she withdrew her membership. The NRWF told The Center Square she is paying a reduced amount that excludes dues for politics since she opted out of union membership.