Michigan electrician sues local union for violating his rights

A Michigan electrician is pressing federal charges against his union after they illegally fined him for working for his wife's business. Charles Lanning claims the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) failed to inform him of his right to resign his union membership, causing him to keep paying union dues unnecessarily in addition to the illegal fines.

Lanning worked as an electrician since 2008, before joining his wife's Homestead Enterprises of Michigan in 2018. After doing so, he called the IBEW Local 58 office to find out if he would still be required to pay any kind of fees to the union despite the fact that he “would not be seeking work through the union hiring hall for the foreseeable future.” Officials said they would still demand quarterly dues, failing to apprise him of his right to resign membership.

In September 2019, according to the charge, Lanning and his wife met with union bosses to discuss “contract changes making it possible for members to be contractors.” The union members allegedly pressured Lanning’s wife to sign a contract which would force her to bargain with the IBEW union simply for hiring her husband.

Mrs. Lanning did not sign, and IBEW bosses subsequently informed Mr. Lanning that the IBEW had brought union disciplinary charges against him. The union allegedly made threats against Lanning's retirement fund, and against his wife's business.

An internal trial board convicted Lanning of violating union rules and demanded that he pay $10,000 in fines.

Lanning’s charge argues that he was never a consensual member of the IBEW because he had never been told that membership was optional. Because his membership was never valid, the charge explains, all of the union-created disciplinary measures are flagrant violations of his rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which protects workers’ “right to refrain from” union activity.