NY mechanic says he was fired for refusing to join union
FILE - A mechanic checks out a semi-truck. (Photo by GEORGE FREY/AFP via Getty Images)
NEW YORK - A mechanic says he was fired from a Buffalo-area car dealership after refusing to join a union.
Remmington Duk claims he was fired from Robert Basil Buick GMC in Orchard Park and after exercising his right not to be a union member.
He is suing the dealership and the International Association of Mechanics (AIM) Lodge 447. Duk’s charges were submitted on January 31 to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal labor law
Duk says it happened in October, 2021. He claims that IAM agents illegally threatened to have him fired because he wouldn't join the union and dealership officials followed through on the threat and terminated Duk less than a week later.
New York is not a so-called Right to Work state so employees may be forced to pay union dues or fees as part of their employment but they are not required to join the union or pay dues used for political activities they don't support.
The National Right to Work Foundation is providing free representation to Duk in the case.
"Union bosses threatening people’s jobs and livelihoods is no way to gain the support of the workers they claim to ‘represent,’" commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. "IAM union bosses’ willingness to violate longstanding law shows why all workers need the protection of a Right to Work law. In addition to formal union membership, financial support for a union should also be voluntary and the choice of each individual worker."
When contacted for a comment by the Washington Free Beacon, the International Association of Machinists Lodge 447 nor the Robert Basil Buick GMC dealership responded.