Rochester, NY (December 6, 2005) – Five Monroe County probation officers filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court today with help from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys against two government unions for violating their First Amendment rights.

The probation officers accuse officials of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) union and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union of deliberately violating their First Amendment and due process rights by seizing forced union dues from their paychecks while refusing them a legally mandated audit of union expenditures.

The five officers, led by David Scheffer, filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York seeking an injunction preventing the further collection of forced union dues, as well as full refunds and punitive damages. The officers’ suit seeks similar relief for all nonmember public employees represented by CSEA union affiliates throughout the state of New York, a number believed to be in the thousands.

Additionally, the officers charge the unions with spending their forced dues on union organizing drives, despite their objections.

“Employees should not have to go to federal court to stop use of their forced union dues for non-bargaining activities,” stated Foundation Vice President Stefan Gleason. “However, as long as public employees in New York labor under forced unionism, these abuses by union officials will inevitably continue.”

Since at least November 2002, CSEA and AFSCME union officials have illegally seized forced dues from nonmember public employees without providing a legally mandated independent audit of how the fee is calculated. Foundation attorneys point out that union officials are spending a significant portion of the forced dues seized from nonmember employees on expenses not related to collective bargaining.

The actions of CSEA and AFSCME union officials violate the Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court decision in Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson, which requires union officials to provide public employees that refrain from formal union membership with an audit of union expenditures. Such audits are intended to prevent the use of public employees’ forced union dues for activities unrelated to collective bargaining, such as politics and union organizing.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.