On February 19, 2008 the United States Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by National Right to Work Foundation attorneys for a group of twenty Maine state employees objecting to the misuse of their compulsory union dues.
The case, Daniel Locke et al. v. Edward Karass et al., will directly address whether non-union employees can be forced to pay for litigation activities far removed from their workplaces. The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling may provide much-needed clarity to the criteria it had previously established that determine what union activities employees can be lawfully forced to fund.
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation news releases about Locke:
- Supreme Court Case May Provide More Employee Protections Against Forced Union Dues (10/3/2008)
- U.S. Supreme Court to Re-Examine Scope of Union Dues Compelled from Non-Union Workers (2/19/2008)
- Maine State Employees Hit Union and Top State Officials with Federal Charges for Violating Constitutional Rights (6/16/2005)
Download legal documents about Locke:
- Locke decision authored by Judge Lipez, First Circuit Court of Appeals (8/7/2007)
- Locke petition for a writ of certiorari submitted by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys (11/6/2007)
- Brief in opposition to certiorari submitted by attorneys on behalf of the Maine State Employee Association (MSEA) (1/9/2008)
- National Right to Work Foundation’s response to the MSEA’s brief (1/29/2008)
- Merit brief submitted by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys (5/5/2008)
- Amicus curiae brief submitted on behalf of the Pacific Legal Foundation, The National Federation for Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Northwestern Legal Foundation, Southeastern Legal Foundation, and Atalntic Foundation (5/12/2008)
- Amicus curiae brief submitted by the Commonwealth of Virginia (5/12/2008)
- Amicus curiae brief submitted by the U.S. Solicitor General (5/12/2008)
- Merit brief submitted by attorneys on behalf of the MSEA (7/17/2008)
- Motion of the Acting Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument (7/24/2008)
- Foundation’s opposition to motion of the Acting Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument (7/28/2008)
- Supreme Court order to deny the motion of the Acting Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument (9/5/2008)
- Reply brief filed by National Right to Work Foundation attorneys (9/11/2008)
- Transcript of oral argument at U.S. Supreme Court (10/6/2008)
Related media:
- National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix’s letter to Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao
- Foundation video segment on Locke v. Karass
- DC Examiner: "Unions Should Stop Tithing Nonmembers With ‘Fees’"
- Legal Times: "Supreme Court Denies Solicitor General’s Request for Face Time"
- National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix’s letter to President George W. Bush
- Labor Watch: "Locke Box: Supreme Court Case Threatens Big Labor’s Legal Slush Fund"
- SCOTUSblog preview of Locke v. Karass
