Chicago-area firefighters win appeal to remove union from their workplace

Firefighters in a Chicago suburb won their appeal to remove the Service Employees International Union from their workplace. False claims by SEIU bosses complicated the process.

Carpentersville, Illinois, firefighter Nick Salzmann has won his appeal to decertify the local union chapter from representing him and his coworkers.

Salzmann petitioned to hold a vote about whether to separate from the union back in September. Service Employees International Union bosses misled him on how to go about it.

“We’ve been going back and forth with the union to have that vote to no avail, so we brought in help from National Right To Work to file everything to decertify,” Salzmann said in January.

80% of the firefighters were in favor of separating, but the Illinois Labor Relations Board prevented them from voting based on allegations from SEIU. Union officials attempted to delay the vote by claiming Carpentersville officials violated bargaining procedures.

Salzmann appealed the decision, contending SEIU wasn’t following procedures by refusing to hold a vote.

“The union walked away from the bargaining table twice when the Employer could not guarantee that the decertification process would not proceed,” Salzmann said in his appeal.

Instead of responding to the appeal, SEIU finally caved after hindering employees’ efforts to dissolve the union. They’ve since filed paperwork giving power over to Salzmann and his fellow firefighters.

While SEIU temporarily blocked the will of the firefighters, their tactics could grow more militant Nov. 8 if Illinois voters back a union power grab entitled Amendment 1. Unions want the Illinois Constitution amended to enshrine their powers to negotiate over nearly any topic and strike to get their way.

Voters need to decide whether public employee unions need any more power in Illinois. The state’s fiscal mess and $313 billion pension debt is a direct result of politicians pandering to public unions and the union bosses nurturing fealty with campaign cash.