Class of 5,000 workers seeks refund of millions of dollars in fees seized by SEIU officials in violation of Supreme Court’s Janus precedent

San Jose, CA (August 16, 2018) – National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys have filed a federal class action lawsuit for a California state employee to reclaim union fees SEIU officials unconstitutionally seized from him and thousands of similarly situated employees. The class action complaint potentially includes approximately 5,000 affected individuals and seeks to enforce the Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court Janus v. AFSCME decision, which held that the First Amendment prohibits mandatory union fees for public sector employees.

William Hough, a worker at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), filed the complaint against the VTA, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 521, and the Attorney General and Governor of California. The complaint, filed at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claims that by forcing Hough and other state employees to pay union fees without their affirmative consent, the defendants violated their First Amendment rights as protected by the new Janus precedent.

Hough has worked at the VTA since 2005. He exercised his right to refrain from joining SEIU Local 521 because he did not wish to support it in any way. However, he and other non-union member employees were forced to pay union fees as a condition of employment under state law.

In the Foundation-won Supreme Court Janus v. AFSCME decision, the Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to require government workers to pay any union dues and fees as a condition of employment. Additionally, the Court clarified that no union dues or fees can be taken from workers without their affirmative consent and knowing waiver of their First Amendment right not to financially support a labor union.

However, California’s law authorizes SEIU Local 521 and its affiliates to extract union fees from non-union members as a condition of employment. In the lawsuit, Hough claims that the applicable statute, and any other statute that authorizes Local 521 to collect forced union fees from public employees without their affirmative consent, violates the First Amendment. He asks the court to declare those laws unconstitutional.

The complaint requests that the court certify a class that includes all individuals who at any time within the applicable limitations period were forced to pay union fees to SEIU Local 521 and its affiliates without their affirmative consent and knowing waiver of their First Amendment rights.

“Independent-minded workers are choosing to stand up for their rights,” said National Right to Work Foundation Vice President Patrick Semmens. “In the Foundation-won Janus decision, the Supreme Court finally upheld public sector workers’ First Amendment right to choose whether or not to support a union without the threat of being fired. Further, the High Court made is clear that fees cannot be collected without a clear waiver of First Amendment rights, something the SEIU never gave Mr. Hough and his colleagues, which is why the complaint seeks refunds of millions of dollars of fees seized in recent years.”

The Foundation has created a special website, MyJanusRights.org, to assist public employees in exercising their rights under Janus, which was successfully argued by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorney William Messenger.

Washington, DC (August 13, 2018) – The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation has today submitted formal comments to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) in support of the agency’s proposed rule to clarify that the diversion of Medicaid payments from providers to third parties, including unions, violates federal law.

The Foundation’s comments demonstrate how schemes enacted by roughly a dozen states have resulted in well over $100 million per year being diverted from health-care providers to union officials, in violation of federal law. The comments call on CMS to finalize a rule that definitively states that siphoning off union dues or fees from taxpayer-funded payments intended for healthcare providers violates the prohibition on assigning benefits to third parties under Section 1396a(a)(32) of the federal Medicaid statute.

As a gift to the Obama Administration’s political backers, in 2014 that administration promulgated a new regulation to give legal cover to ongoing schemes by the SEIU and other unions that have to date siphoned off over $1 billion in Medicaid funds. However, as the Foundation’s comments to CMS point out, agency rules cannot conflict with the underlying statute, which is why CMS should both repeal the Obama rule and replace it with explicit language to give states notice that continuing to divert payments puts their Medicaid funding at risk.

National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix issued the following statement about the filing of those comments in response to the CMS rulemaking notice:

“It is long past time that this outrageous attempt to create another exemption in federal law for union officials be ended. We encourage the CMS to expeditiously issue a final rule to stop the illegal siphoning off of funds from Medicaid providers. Despite the wishes of the politicians they back, union officials are not exempt from federal law. All the current proposed rule change would do is close the illegal loophole the Obama Administration attempted to create.

“Our 2014 National Right to Work Foundation-won 2014 Harris decision made it illegal for states to require these providers pay fees to union officials, but the current scheme to deduct union fees from Medicaid payments is part of union bosses’ attempts to undermine that ruling. Nothing in the proposed CMS rule would stop providers from sending truly voluntary dues to union officials with a check or credit card each month. It would merely stop union bosses from using public payment systems to intercept tax dollars intended for providers caring for those in need.”

Background: The 2014 Foundation-won Harris v. Quinn Supreme Court decision held that it is unconstitutional for states to force home care providers paid through Medicaid programs to pay union fees. That case still continues as 80,000 providers seek the return of over $30 million in funds seized from them in violation of their First Amendment rights.

Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, the illegal dues skim has not stopped. That is why in 2017 the National Right to Work Foundation sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services to bring their attention to this issue. Additionally, Foundation President Mix personally raised the issue with Trump Administration officials at the White House earlier this year.

Foundation staff attorney William Messenger, who successfully argued Janus Supreme Court case, will argue for Kentucky workers

Frankfort, KY (August 10, 2018) – This morning, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorney William Messenger will argue before the Kentucky Supreme Court, representing Kentucky workers as interested parties in Zuckerman v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, which Big Labor officials brought as a challenge to the Commonwealth’s Right to Work legislation.

William Messenger was the counsel of record for Mark Janus, whose case at the United States Supreme Court, Janus v. AFSCME, made headlines for ending forced dues for public-sector workers nationwide. Messenger argued before the Supreme Court for Mr. Janus.

Messenger’s upcoming oral argument is on behalf of three Kentucky workers, who filed for and were granted intervention in the case. Although the workers were not originally named as parties to the case, the trial court deemed that because they will be significantly affected by the case’s outcome, they should be allowed to participate in the defense of Kentucky’s Right to Work legislation.

The union officials’ case was dismissed by the Franklin County Circuit Court, which ruled that their claims lacked merit because Right to Work is constitutional. Union lawyers then appealed the case to the Commonwealth’s Supreme Court.

“Union bosses’ arguments against Kentucky’s Right to Work law were rejected in the past by every appellate court to hear them. They should be rejected again by the Kentucky Supreme Court,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “The Bluegrass State has seen record economic growth since the enactment of Right to Work. It is shameful that Big Labor wants to undo that just to keep siphoning dues from workers against their will.”

The arguments will be heard on the morning of August 10, 2018 at the Kentucky Supreme Court in Frankfort.

A worker at a muffler plant in Indiana has filed federal charges against his employer and local union after being told he couldn’t work if he refused to wear union regalia

Columbus, IN (July 30, 2018) – An Indiana muffler plant employee has filed federal unfair labor practice charges against both his employer and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 1424 for violating his workplace rights. Marshall Hobson filed the charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

Hobson, who resigned his union membership two years ago, filed the charges after he was ordered to purchase and wear shirts at work emblazoned with the union logo. When he refused to buy and wear the union logo shirt, his employer Faurecia – which manufactures mufflers – ordered Hobson to clock out and leave. According to the charge, the decision to send Hobson home was made at the behest of an IBEW union official.

Hobson discovered that union officials and the company had created a contract that explicitly requires even non-union employees to wear union shirts featuring the union logo. Indiana, a Right to Work state, prohibits making union financial support a condition of employment.

As the charges point out, requiring non-union workers to purchase and wear uniforms with union logos unlawfully interferes with the workers’ right to refrain from union activities. The charges will be investigated by the NLRB Region 25 office in Indianapolis, which can prosecute the union and employer for violating federal labor law.

“This case shows that even in Right to Work states, union bosses will use any sneaky tactic to extract money from workers who oppose the union,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “It is outrageous that, despite Mr. Hobson’s wish to remain a non-member, union officials have required him to act as a billboard for the very union he opposes.”

SEIU officials forced to settle federal lawsuit and return nearly $3,000 in illegal forced fees as a result of Foundation-won Janus precedent

Eugene, OR (July 30, 2018) – A federal First Amendment lawsuit brought by National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys and the Gibson Law Firm for Oregon public employee Debora Nearman against Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 503 has ended with a settlement agreement that will return nearly $3,000 in forced dues to Nearman. The refund represents the first return of forced fees as a result of the Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court Janus v. AFSCME decision, which held that the First Amendment prohibits mandatory union fees.

Nearman, an employee at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, filed the lawsuit in April challenging the constitutionality of mandatory union fees as a condition of government employment. After the Janus decision was issued, the writing was on the wall for SEIU officials, who quickly moved to settle the case and return more than two years of forced fees to Nearman.

In her complaint, Nearman objected to being required to financially support and associate with SEIU Local 503 because the organization actively opposes her personal views, including her religious beliefs and her husband’s public service.

In the 2016 general election, Nearman’s husband, Mike Nearman, successfully ran for State Representative in the Oregon Legislature. During the campaign, the SEIU local union that she was forced to fund spent over $53,000 to run an aggressive campaign against him, including distributing disparaging fliers. Additionally, the complaint noted that the SEIU hierarchy takes positions on political issues that conflict with Nearman’s sincerely held religious beliefs.

The Foundation-won Supreme Court Janus v. AFSCME decision in June overturned the erroneous 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education that public-sector workers could be compelled as a condition of employment to pay union fees for bargaining-related purposes. In Janus, the Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to require government workers to pay any union dues and fees as a condition of employment. Additionally, the Court clarified that no union dues or fees can be taken from workers without their affirmative consent and knowing waiver of their First Amendment right not to financially support a labor union.

SEIU officials will return to Nearman over two years of forced fees amounting to nearly $3,000. They also will not collect any dues or fees from Nearman’s future wages unless she affirmatively chooses to become a member of SEIU and authorizes such deductions. In compliance with Janus, SEIU Local 503 and the state of Oregon have also removed their forced fees provision from their collective bargaining agreement.

“This is a great example for the countless public-sector workers across the country who seek to have their First Amendment rights respected in light of the Foundation’s Janus Supreme Court victory,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Nearman’s refund represents the first of what should ultimately be hundreds of millions of dollars or even more returned to public employees for union fees seized from them in violation of the First Amendment.”

The Foundation has created a special website, MyJanusRights.org, to assist public employees in exercising their rights under Janus, which was successfully argued by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorney William Messenger.

Neosho, MO (July 23, 2018) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a complaint in response to unfair labor practice charges filed by an employee of New-Mac Electric Cooperative against the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 53. After James Feagins objected to paying full union dues beyond what he could be legally required to pay, union officials failed to provide him with information on union dues and spending. They also demanded that he pay about 94% of the full dues rate just to keep his job, including illegal charges for expenses outside the local bargaining unit.

With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Feagins, who works in New-Mac’s accounting department, filed charges with the NLRB against Kansas City-based IBEW Local 53. The charge states that union officials violated Feagins’ rights by failing to provide him with legally required information of union expenditures, such as an independent audit, and charging him for union activities unrelated to bargaining.

Missouri’s Right to Work law is pending a voter referendum in August. Because the law is not yet in effect, employees like Feagins can be required to pay some fees to union officials as a condition of employment. However, even without Right to Work protections workers cannot legally be required to fund activities unrelated to union bargaining, such as political action, and unions must follow certain procedures to justify the amount of the compulsory fee. As Feagins’ case shows, enforcing such rights absent a Right to Work law can be difficult.

In November 2017, Feagins, who is not a union member, objected to paying any fees to IBEW beyond the legal requirements. However, union officials failed to provide Feagins with a detailed explanation of union expenses to justify the amount they were charging him. Further, union officials continue to charge Feagins for non-bargaining activities. The fees they have demanded include organizing expenses from outside Local 53’s competitive market, which is illegal.

To protect his rights, Feagins turned to the National Right to Work Foundation for free legal assistance. Following a charge filed for him by Foundation staff attorneys, the NLRB Regional Director issued a complaint, and has now scheduled a trial for October.

“Feagins chose to hold IBEW union officials accountable for their greedy neglect of employees’ rights,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “As long as union officials have the power to force financial support from the workers they claim to represent, these types of violations will continue as union bosses seek to line their pockets with illegal forced dues.”

“This case underscores the need for Missouri workers to have the protections of a Right to Work law to make union affiliation and union financial support completely voluntary,” continued Mix. “Each and every Missouri worker deserves the freedom to decide for him or herself whether union officials deserve part of their hard-earned money.”

Majority of workers wanted union out in 2014, but Obama Labor Board blocked UNITE-HERE union’s removal for over four years

Sausalito, CA (July 17, 2018) – Workers at Scoma’s of Sausalito, a California restaurant, held a decertification election last Monday, July 10, to remove the UNITE HERE union from their workplace, resulting in a 37-12 landslide vote against the union. The successful election is a culmination of over four years of employee efforts to remove the union’s presence at the restaurant. The restaurant employees received free legal aid from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys in their efforts to exercise their rights to remove the union.

In 2014, restaurant employee Georgina Canche and a majority of her fellow coworkers successfully petitioned their employer to withdraw recognition of UNITE HERE as their monopoly bargaining representative. Despite that a majority of the employees signed the petition and the employer followed procedure established by longstanding labor law, the union filed a federal charge against the employer with the National Labor Relations Board seeking to reinstate its monopoly bargaining powers, regardless of the workers’ petition.

Eventually, the notoriously pro-forced unionism Obama Labor Board sided with union lawyers, and even issued a “bargaining order” that would block attempts by the workers to hold a secret ballot vote to decertify and remove the union. Scoma’s then appealed the case to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which unanimously overturned the “bargaining order” and remanded the case to the Labor Board so that an election could proceed.

Last Monday, following additional delay, the NLRB Regional Director finally conducted a secret ballot decertification election, in which the workers voted 37-12 to remove UNITE HERE from their workplace, making it clear that a vast majority of Scoma’s employees do not accept UNITE HERE’s monopoly representation.

“After years of dilatory legal challenges by union lawyers, the workers of Scoma’s restaurant are finally able to have a say in their own workplace representation,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. “Union officials ought to ask themselves why they refuse to accept election results, and why they spent so much time trying to invalidate the wishes of an overwhelming majority of the workers they purport to represent.”

Following the National Right to Work Foundation’s victory in the US Supreme Court Janus v. AFSCME decision, International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 370 union officials have withdrawn a case pending at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that sought to overturn Idaho’s longstanding Right to Work law.

Just hours after the Supreme Court released the landmark Janus v. AFSCME decision, declaring that public-sector workers cannot constitutionally be forced to pay union fees, the Court of Appeals asked that briefs be submitted by the parties in IUOE v. Wasden on the impact of Janus on the lawsuit.

Yesterday, prior to the deadline for that brief, union bosses notified the Court that they were withdrawing their legal challenge to Idaho’s popular Right to Work law which protects workers from being forced to fund a labor union as a condition of getting or keeping a job.

In addition to successfully arguing the Janus case at the U.S. Supreme Court, National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys filed an amicus curiae brief in the in the IUOE v. Wasden case to defend Idaho and other state’s longstanding legal right to pass Right to Work laws to protect workers from forced union dues.

In response to the end of this particular legal attack on Right to Work, National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix issued the following statement:

“This development is a huge victory for independent-minded workers, not just in Idaho but across the country. IUOE officials tried to push their outrageous legal theory to overturn over 60 years of precedent which, had it been accepted could have wiped out Right to Work protections for millions of workers. Thankfully, their attempt to end Right to Work laws has failed, and Idaho workers still have the liberty to choose whether or not to financially support a union.”