The brief was filed in Kanawha Circuit Court for the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation joined by The National Federation of Independent Businesses Small Businesses Legal Center.
The group filed another amicus brief in the case in August, asking Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey to reject union arguments for a preliminary injunction because West Virginia’s Right to Work Law is no different than the other 25 state Right to Work Laws, which it says "have withstood intense legal scrutiny for over 60 years, and never been struck down by a federal court or a state appellate court."
At a hearing in August, Bailey said she intended to grant a preliminary injunction. But she hasn't done that yet. Parties had to file motions by Oct. 4. So, the group filed another brief to grant the state’s motion for summary judgement and uphold the Right to Work law.
“West Virginia’s Right to Work law should stand just like the 25 other state laws in place," Foundation President Mark Mix said in a press release. "Union officials are advancing an outrageous and rejected legal theory that attempts to create some kind of ‘right’ for them to extort money from workers forced to accept unions’ so-called representation.
“Instead of working to overturn Right to Work so they can order workers fired for refusing to pay, West Virginia union officials ought to be asking themselves why they are so afraid to give workers a choice as to union dues and fees.”
The National Right to Work Foundation is a charitable organization that provides free legal assistance to employees nationwide. It says it has a history of defending Right to Work laws in state and federal court, most recently in Indiana and Michigan. Foundation attorneys have also filed briefs in Wisconsin in response to union lawsuits challenging that states recently enacted law.
After the West Virginia Legislature overrode Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s veto and became the 26th Right to work state on Feb. 4, the National Right to Work Foundation announced an offer of free legal aid to any employees seeking to assert their rights under the new law.
The foundation also created a special task force to defend the West Virginia law, which went into full effect July 1, from any Big Labor legal challenges.
