Wasilla woman alleges unfair labor practices

WASILLA — A Wasilla woman has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against her employer — First Student — and the General Teamsters Local 959 union, according to a press release from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

Ruth Chester, an administrative aide with First Student, has never been a Teamsters Local 959 member. The charges allege union officials demanded she join the Teamsters or lose her job. Although Chester has declined to join the union, her employer has deducted full union dues from Chester’s paycheck and passed them on to Local 959 for the past six months, the foundation alleges in its press release.

Chester’s allegations will be investigated by the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency responsible for administering private-sector labor law.