Stroeder v. Service Employees International Union, Local 503
This case is one of over a hundred public-sector union lawsuits Ballotpedia tracked following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 decision in Janus v. AFSCME. These pages were updated through February 2023 and may not reflect subsequent case developments. For more information about Ballotpedia's coverage of public-sector union policy in the United States, click here. Contact our team to suggest an update.
Stroeder v. Service Employees International Union, Local 503 was decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on December 30, 2019. The appellate court upheld the district court’s decision. On December 6, 2019, the United States District Court for the District of Oregon decided the case, dismissing the plaintiff's complaints. In light of the ruling in Janus v. AFSCME The plaintiff filed the initial complaint on July 30, 2019, challenging the union’s opt-out window and continued deduction of dues despite the plaintiff's wishes to opt out of union membership.[1][2][3][4]
Procedural history
The plaintiff was Colleen Stroeder. They were represented by attorneys from the Liberty Justice Center and Nathan R. Rietmann, Attorneys At Law. The defendants were Service Employees International Union, Local 503, Oregon Public Employees Union. They were represented by attorneys from Altshuler Berzon LLP and Thomas, Coon, Newton & Frost.[1][2]
The plaintiff in Stroeder v. Service Employees International Union, Local 503 first filed their lawsuit on July 30, 2019, in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. The plaintiff decided to withdraw from union membership but missed the union’s annual opt-out window, and thusly the union continued to withdraw dues from plaintiff’s paycheck. The plaintiff challenged the union’s opt-out window and continued deduction of dues.[1][2][3][4]
- July 30, 2019: Plaintiff file original complaints seeking damages.
- August 2, 2019: Plaintiff files motion for preliminary injunction.
- September 9, 2019: Plaintiff withdraws motion for a preliminary injunction.
- October 16, 2019: Several defendants file motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.
- December 6, 2019: Court grants state defendants’ motion to dismiss.
- December 18, 2019: Plaintiff appeals district court’s decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
- December 30, 2019: Appellate court upholds district court’s decision.
For a list of available case documents, click here.
Decision
On December 6, 2019, the United States District Court for the District of Oregon dismissed the plaintiff's complaints, upholding the union’s opt-out period. On December 30, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the district court’s decision, dismissing the plaintiff’s claims.[1][4]
On December 6, 2019, Judge Marco Hernandez dismissed the plaintiff’s claims. Judge Hernandez wrote the following in the court's opinion:=
“ | The Court cannot find a reasonable expectation that Plaintiff will be subjected to the
challenged action again. Plaintiff is not seeking to recover damages from State Defendants. Plaintiff is no longer a union member, her dues authorization is no longer in effect, and dues are no longer being deducted from her paychecks. In fact, Plaintiff would “have to rejoin [her] union for [her] claim to be live,” and, “given [her] representations in this lawsuit, [this] seems a remote possibility.” Babb v. Cal. Teachers Ass’n., 378 F. Supp. 3d 857, 886 (C.D. Cal. 2019); see also Smith v. Bieker, 18-cv-05472-VC, 2019 WL 2476679, *1 (N.D. Cal. June 13, 2019) (finding similar claims moot). Plaintiff has identified no facts to suggest otherwise. Thus, the claim against State Defendants must be dismissed as moot. [5] |
” |
—Judge Marco Hernandez |
Judge Hernandez joined the United States District Court for the District of Oregon in 2011 after a nomination from President Barack Obama.
Legal context
Janus v. AFSCME (2018)
- See also: Janus v. AFSCME
On June 27, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a 5-4 decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (Janus v. AFSCME), ruling that public-sector unions cannot compel non-member employees to pay fees to cover the costs of non-political union activities.[6]
This decision overturned precedent established in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education in 1977. In Abood, the high court held that it was not a violation of employees' free-speech and associational rights to require them to pay fees to support union activities from which they benefited (e.g., collective bargaining, contract administration, etc.). These fees were commonly referred to as agency fees or fair-share fees.[6]
Justice Samuel Alito authored the opinion for the court majority in Janus, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch. Alito wrote, "Abood was poorly reasoned. It has led to practical problems and abuse. It is inconsistent with other First Amendment cases and has been undermined by more recent decisions. Developments since Abood was handed down have shed new light on the issue of agency fees, and no reliance interests on the part of public-sector unions are sufficient to justify the perpetuation of the free speech violations that Abood has countenanced for the past 41 years. Abood is therefore overruled."[6]
Related litigation
To view a complete list of the public-sector labor lawsuits Ballotpedia tracked between 2019 and 2023, click here.
Number of federal lawsuits by circuit
Between 2019 and 2023, Ballotpedia tracked 191 federal lawsuits related to public-sector labor laws. The chart below depicts the number of suits per federal judicial circuit (i.e., the jurisdictions in which the suits originated).
Public-sector labor lawsuits on Ballotpedia
Click show to view a list of cases with links to our in-depth coverage.
See also
- Public-sector union policy in the United States, 2018-2023
- Janus v. AFSCME
- Abood v. Detroit Board of Education
External links
Case documents
Trial court
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Pacer Monitor, "Stroeder v. Service Employees International Union, Local 503, Oregon Public Employees Union," accessed September 21, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Pacer Monitor, "Colleen Stroeder v. Service Employees Internationa, et al," accessed September 21, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 My Pay, My Say, Maine, "News," accessed September 21, 2020
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Pacer Monitor, "OPINION AND ORDER," accessed September 21, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Supreme Court of the United States, Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, et al., June 27, 2018
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