Labor Union in the judicial system’s cross hairs after crossing the wrong Texas businessman

Last updated on: August 28, 2016 at 12:58 pm by Mark Meckler

Labor Union in the judicial system’s cross hairs after crossing the wrong Texas businessman 2016-08-28T12:58:11-06:00 Mark Meckler

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Have you ever looked forward to the day when militant labor unions would be held accountable for their abuses? Well, today’s your day. Recently, we told you about this case in Texas. Now, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is fighting to survive a courtroom battle in Houston that it spent 10 years hoping to avoid.

Professional Janitorial Services (PJS) of Houston filed a defamation lawsuit against the SEIU in 2007 after the union knowingly spread lies about the company to owners of buildings it cleaned. The union claimed PJS mistreated its employees and stole money from their paychecks, despite a report by the Department of Labor that made clear the claims were false.

According to testimony in the trial, which started two weeks ago and is expected to end this week, the SEIU went so far as to file falsified employee complaints—some with apparently forged signatures—with the National Labor Relations Board. It also claimed 400 employees were eligible to join a class action lawsuit the union filed to pretend PJS cheated employees on their paychecks.

In fact, the National Labor Relations Board dismissed 19 of the 20 unfair labor practice complaints (and only required the company to hang an informational poster to resolve the remaining complaint). In addition, the union was forced to drop its bogus lawsuit when no plaintiffs showed up.

Despite this, the union used the filings as “evidence” to tell PJS customers the company was a lawbreaker, and that it was “under investigation” for the very charges that were determined to have no merit.

The problem for the union is that Brent Southwell, the CEO of PJS, is a Texan. He has spent 10 years defying the union’s abuses and—unfortunately for the SEIU—plotting his revenge. Brent is seeking more than $5 million in damages for the union’s lies, and wants punitive damages that could cost the union even more.

Watch Southwell explain the situation to Greta Van Susteren in 2014:

The other problem is that the union is no match for PJS in court. That has resulted in desperate tactics by SEIU and its lawyers that are likely to land both in very hot water. The judge in the case has cleared the courtroom numerous times to chastise the SEIU lawyers for providing her with false information, sending hand signals to witnesses on the stand, and even threatening PJS family members by photographing them in the courtroom. Watch for fines and sanctions when the trial is over.

One particular episode makes clear just how desperate the union is to avoid its fate. The SEIU lawyers told the judge that a key witness in the case—the union’s lead organizer who PJS believes falsified documents from employees to make the false claims seem real—could not testify because of a life-threatening health condition. They even produced a doctor’s note, said she was homebound on his orders, and said she was too heavily medicated to testify in any case.

Unconvinced, the judge ordered the witness to appear, determined the woman had no health issues, and promptly ordered her to respond to two full days of questioning by PJS. Needless to say, her testimony destroyed what little credit the union may have managed to save.

PJS rested its case last week, and the SEIU will now try to dig out of a deep hole. Everyone who wants evidence of the SEIU’s corrupt culture should tune in.

PJS deserves appreciation from every business that has faced similar abuses by corrupt union bosses. A fitting end to this case would be for the SEIU to wrap up its futile defense this week. That would allow us to enjoy Labor Day knowing our proud history of labor progress continues to advance in the right direction.

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