The National Right To Work Foundation has helped some Oregonians avoid the snare of SEIU officials’ dirty organizing tactics. As they attempt to build membership by skirting real secret ballot elections, SEIU is gaining a reputation for misleading would-be members. Now SEIU Local 49 officials have been forced to reach a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board to stop “card check” organizing for six months. NRTW has the details:

In October 2006, SEIU Local 49 union officials allegedly tricked Canney and his coworkers into signing “information flyers” that were later counted as votes favoring unionization. Soon after, SBM recognized the SEIU union as the monopoly bargaining agent despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of SBM employees signed two separate petitions to the NLRB – one prior to the SEIU union’s recognition and one after – stating their wish to remain nonunion. Canney also charged that Siltronics overlooked out of date cards, promised benefits, and otherwise deceived and coerced employees into supporting unionization.

The Oregonian has more on the story, including a federal authority’s observation that SEIU’s conduct is part of a pattern:

… Catherine Roth, acting regional director of the federal labor board in Seattle, pointed to a similar case last year involving the same SEIU local. “How we handled this case is how we’ve handled cases forever,” she said. “We need to make sure people understand the law and follow the law.”