NLRB sides with the IWW STWU

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LARGE LOCAL TICKET DISTRIBUTER INVESTIGATED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD FINDS IN FAVOR OF STAR TICKETS WORKERS

GRAND RAPIDS, MI-- After a thorough investigation, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has determined that Star Tickets violated the law set forth in the National Labor Relations Act by illegally firing Deirdre Cunningham based on her union activity, and by unilaterally making changes to terms and conditions of employment without negotiating with the IWW Star Tickets Workers Union. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is a government agency tasked with investigating charges of federal labor law violations, enforcing such laws, and following through with related penalties.

The IWW Star Tickets Workers Union held an election on March 6th, 2013, and was certified by the NLRB on March 25th, 2013 to represent all non-managerial workers in its inbound call center for entertainment ticketing located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Deirdre Cunningham, an organizer in the union campaign, and an employee with Star Tickets for nearly a decade, was fired on March 26th.

"This has been a significant hardship for me," said Deirdre. "As is typical in these cases, management at Star have been trying to justify my firing by asserting that I did substandard work, which I know based on years of positive client feedback is not true. I'm happy that the determination has reinforced what I know to be true, and hopeful that I will be able to return to the work that I once enjoyed."

"It's important for us to see justice in Deirdre's case," said Evelyn Stone, Star Tickets Workers Union organizer and call center representative. "Although we recognize that our rights are inherent and not handed down by a government agency, this ruling is a great demonstration to our coworkers and friends in the community that union activity is protected, and that no one should be deterred from organizing in their workplace."

The Industrial Workers of the World is a rank-and-file labor union open to all workers. Gaining prominence from the Starbucks Workers Union and the Jimmy Johns Workers Union, the IWW has become the go-to union for workers not interested in the bureaucracy of traditional unions.
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