UC workers sue to end union dues in the middle of contract

A pair of parking staff members at UC San Diego filed suit Tuesday against the school and a Teamsters union, claiming their First Amendment rights were violated when they were told they couldn't drop their union memberships until the union contracts ended in 2022.

The Sacramento-based Pacific Legal Foundation and the Liberty Justice Center in Chicago filed the complaint in the Southern District of California on behalf of plaintiffs Michael Jackson and Tory Smith, both of whom worked for the university's parking management department.

According to the suit, Jackson and Smith independently tried to resign their membership in Teamsters Local 2010, but the union denied both requests.

When they went to the school's human resources department for help, staff members refused to answer questions and referred both men back to the union under SB 866, the suit alleges. Jackson v. Napolitano, 19-CV01427 (S.D. Cal., filed Jul. 30, 2019).

The union again denied their demand to opt out, telling both men they were locked into membership under a contract they signed until the Teamsters' collective bargaining agreement with the school expired in 2022, the suit alleges. Jackson and Smith estimate the union deducted between $500 and $600 from their biweekly paychecks annually.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 866 into the law the same day the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Janus v. AFSCME, which gave workers a First Amendment defense against unions collecting dues or other fees unless they consent to the deductions and waive their right to "refrain from subsidizing union speech."

"The Supreme Court held in Janus that public employees cannot be forced to join or pay money to a union," Liberty Justice Center senior attorney Jeffrey M. Schwab said in a statement. "The Teamsters and the university are violating Mike Jackson and Tory Smith's constitutional rights by preventing them from leaving the union until 2022."

The law granted unions additional protections following Janus, requiring California public employers refer any employees looking to change or cancel their dues authorizations to the union.

It also requires state employers to accept the union's certification as to who pays dues and to confer with the union before sending out "mass communications" regarding employees' rights to join or support a union.

Calls to the university were not returned Tuesday. The Teamsters union declined comment.

Attorneys for Jackson and Smith called the law a "gag rule" that prohibits state employers from giving truthful information to their employees about their "constitutional rights to refrain from becoming or remaining a union member."

They are seeking declarative and injunctive relief, damages including the past dues, attorney fees and other relief.

"Public employees must give clear permission before any money is taken from them to support a union," Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Timothy Snowball said in a statement. "California can't hide this fact from them, and the state cannot stop employers from sharing truthful information with employees about their constitutional rights. There's no justification for this law."