A Colorado Springs metal worker has filed federal charges against his former union for allegedly demanding tens of thousands of dollars in retaliation for his leaving the union, according to a Tuesday news release.
Russell Chacon filed charges against Local Chapter 9 of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation workers’ union after receiving a message ordering him to pay $21,252 to make up for a “loss of funds” stemming from his choice to seek employment with a nonunion firm.
Chacon, a former employee of Colorado Springs-based contractor Colorado Sheet Metal, formally resigned his membership with the union in November 2020 when he elected to take a job with Rocky Mechanical, a Pueblo-based firm that is not affiliated with the union.