**Albuquerque, NM (September 22, 2006)** – The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to overturn a District Court ruling ordering union officials to refund all dues seized by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union (AFSCME) Local 624 from nonunion city government employees.
The unanimous 21-page ruling came in Wessel v. Albuquerque, a case brought by National Right to Work Foundation attorneys for city government employees against the City of Albuquerque and the AFSCME Local 624, after the city deducted union dues used for activities unrelated to collective bargaining and without proper procedural protections.
The appeals court agreed with the District Court that union witnesses had failed to prove that the forced dues – seized from nonunion employees – were being spent to the benefit of the city government employees and rejected the union’s position that nonmembers be forced to pay. Union officials could not meet their constitutional burden of proof that the seized money is used for collective bargaining expenses.
The case was originally filed in January 2000 by Rory Wessel of Albuquerque, and twelve other city employees, after the City of Albuquerque heeded the demands of union officials of AFSCME Local 624 to withhold compulsory union dues from employees’ paychecks without observing constitutional due process requirements.
“In their rush to hoard forced dues, union officials showed complete disregard for the constitutional rights of the very employees they claim to represent,» said Stefan Gleason, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Ultimately, this case illustrates why New Mexico needs to enact a state Right to Work law that would make payment of union dues completely voluntary.”
Like many agreements around the country, the collective bargaining agreement also included an indemnification clause in which the union promised the city that it would pay all legal costs in defending a suit filed by employees whose constitutional rights were violated. On an earlier appeal the court found this contract provision void as against public policy. The appeals court now has remanded to the District Court the issue of whether the city must disgorge the money it received under the illegal clause. Foundation attorneys are confident the District Court will order the money’s return – an action that would serve as a strong deterrent to other government bodies that might consider aiding unions in violating employees’ First Amendment rights.
The thirteen plaintiffs will receive approximately $1,800 in refunded dues, interest and damages to go along with the over $600 already refunded to them. A companion class-action case, also filed with free legal aid from Foundation attorneys, was settled in 2005 resulting in almost 500 nonunion employees receiving nearly $180,000 in refunded dues, interest and damages.
Download the Appeals Court Decision
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 more than 250 cases nationwide per year.
