Union Station: October 19, 2018

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On June 27, the Supreme Court issued its 5-4 ruling in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (Janus). The court ruled that public sector unions cannot require non-member employees to pay agency fees to cover the costs of non-political union activities.

Most state legislatures have either adjourned for the year or are in recess. This week, we take a closer look at two lawsuits filed Monday in Ohio citing the Janus precedent.

• Ogle v. Ohio Civil Service Employees Association: This class-action lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court on Oct. 15. (Sources: The Columbus Dispatch, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation)
  • Who are the parties to the suit? Nathaniel Ogle, an employee of Ohio's Department of Taxation, is the plaintiff. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation represents him in the case. The defendant is the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, an affiliate of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. The Ohio Civil Service Employees Association represents approximately 30,000 state and local government employees.
  • What's at issue? Ogle’s attorneys, citing Janus, argue agency fees previously deducted from his and others' paychecks should be refunded.
• Smith, et al. v. AFSCME Council 8: This class-action lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court on Oct. 15. (Sources: The Columbus Dispatch, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation)
  • Who are the parties to the suit? State and local government employees Jotham Smith, Adam Scheiner, Brian Parks, Annette Lipsky, Steven Fletcher, Michael Cooper, and Tracey Baird are the plaintiffs. Their legal counsel is the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. The defendant is AFSCME Council 8, which represents more than 400 public-sector employees in Ohio.
  • What's at issue? After Janus, the plaintiffs all resigned from AFSCME Council 8. The union continued to deduct dues from the plaintiffs' paychecks, citing a rule that establishes a 15-day period during which members can resign and revoke their dues deduction authorizations. Plaintiffs allege Janus rendered this rule unconstitutional.
• What are the parties to these suits saying?
  • Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, said, "Unfortunately, rather than allow workers to decide freely whether or not to associate with and financially support a labor union, union bosses coast to coast have instead attempted to block workers from exercising their constitutional rights, making numerous Janus enforcement cases necessary."
  • Chris Mabe, president of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, said, "Our union members see through the scam. They know who these groups are. These are well-funded anti-worker, anti-public-employee groups funded by billionaires like the Koch brothers. The vast majority of our members are committed to sticking together so we can fight for better wages and benefits and respect for public employees."

What we've been reading:

• Port Huron Times Herald, "Port Huron Schools employees sue teachers union over dues," Oct. 18, 2018
• Observer, "Supreme Court Decision Raises Questions for New Jersey’s Public Employers," Oct. 17, 2018
• Education Week, "'This Road Just Got a Lot Harder': Teachers' Unions Hit With New Round of Lawsuits," Oct. 15, 2018

The big picture

States in session: As of Oct. 19, state legislatures in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia are in session or special session. The remaining state legislatures have either adjourned or are in recess.

Number of relevant bills by state

As of Oct. 19, we are tracking 201 pieces of legislation dealing with public-sector employee union policy. No new bills were tracked this week. On the map below, a darker shade of green indicates a greater number of relevant bills. Click the map for complete information.

Number of relevant bills by current legislative status

Number of relevant bills by partisan status of sponsor(s)

Recent legislative actions

Ballotpedia tracked no legislative actions related to public-sector union policy this week.

See also

• Public sector union policy in the United States