SPFPA "I Work to get Paid; I Don't Pay to Work" - Juan Vielma El Paso, Texas.
- Feb 6
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Juan Vielma, 58, was a security guard of 17 years in El Paso, Texas. That is, until he dared to oppose a union. When union officials persuaded his employer to suspend him without pay for exercising his legal rights, he struggled to make ends meet.
His employer, AKAL Security, is a joint-venture of Minnesota-based Deco Security Services and New Mexico-based AKAL Security.
At the order of officials from the International Union of Security Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA), AKAL suspended Juan without pay for over a year because he had exercised his right under Texas’ Right to Work law to refuse to pay union dues. Texas is one of 24 Right to Work states that prohibit compulsory dues.
Juan sought free legal assistance from attorneys at the National Right to Work Foundation. In federal charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Foundation attorneys sought Juan’s reinstatement and back pay, in addition to a notice to all AKAL Security employees about their rights to refrain from forced union membership and dues payment. Eventually, the NLRB issued a formal complaint and conducted a hearing to prosecute the union in late March 2007.
After the hearing, a federal Administrative Law Judge ruled that Juan be reinstated and be fully reimbursed his back wages and benefits lost. However, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office has inexplicably failed to take formal legal action to prosecute the SPFPA union for violating the Right to Work law. Foundation attorneys have also uncovered an apparent statewide union fraud to dupe potentially thousands of Texans into paying compulsory dues.
Juan in His Own Words
“I can’t collect unemployment because I’m suspended until I pay the union fees. I’ve got all my bills. I’m two payments behind on my house (mortgage).” –Juan Vielma, speaking to a reporter for the El Paso Times
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Florida couple pled guilty today to conspiracy to provide and receive prohibited labor payments, in violation of the Labor Management Relations Act, also known as the Taft-Hartley Act.
According to court documents, since at least 2010 until November 2023, Ricky Dallas O’Quinn, 63, of Melbourne, Florida, served as both an officer and employee of International Union, Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA), a labor organization that represents protective security officers at federal workplaces. SPFPA executed collective bargaining agreements with several employers covering the security industry in several states. Ricky’s wife, Mabel O’Quinn, was the founder, incorporator, and an initial director of Company-2, which provided protective security officers at federal workplaces in numerous states. While Mabel served as Company-2’s chief executive officer and president, Ricky was involved in the finance, budget, and operations of the company since its inception in a clandestine role. Both Ricky and Mabel O’Quinn hid Ricky’s involvement in operating Company-2.
Read more about this story: Former SPFPA VP @ Large Rick O'Quinn & His Wife Plead Guilty in a Scheme to Provide & Receive Prohibited Labor Payments
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