Excellent question. The RICO act does in fact have provision for civil suits and that is how the southern poverty law center put the Ku Klux Klan out of business. RICO, in effect, broadens application of conspiracy theory and makes the organization liable for punitive damages.
I asked the same question about the unions here in Illinois. My council explained that unions in our state (Ill), and our state legislature are exempted from RICO as is our nations House and Senate, and city councils, etc.
Also he explained that various charities have been exempted, such as the Red Cross. He did not elaborate an any others, he just mentioned that one.
Nationally, I don’t know, but here in our state, we could not use RICO laws to go after unions. Not that it would matter, our States Attorney (Lisa Madigan) is the daughter of the Dem Speaker of the House (Michael Madigan), so there would be no follow up in any event.
Lawsuits against unions or union members go no where in Illinois. The States Attorney would never file charges, and it would be very slim a judge would hear the case. If they did, you would most likely be found liable for the unions court costs and sent packing.
I would think that RICO laws are federal, but that’s how it was explained to me.
BTW, we closed our family shop about a year ago because of union buffoonery.