On August 1, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit against a New Jersey union that violated the constitutional rights of a local plumber, attempting to justify the violation with puns. It claimed that a Supreme Court decision did not apply because the union had illegally withdrawn the money from its paychecks for “assessments” and not “fees.”
In the landmark decision Janus v. In 2018, AFSCME, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that public employees have the First Amendment right to choose whether to join or financially support a union. Unless employees “affirmatively” agree to waive this First Amendment right, unions cannot legally withhold dues or other fees from their paychecks.
Despite the Supreme Court ruling, many unions refuse to recognize workers' rights. As a result, public employees like plaintiff Nicolo Giangrasso must go to court to get the union to recognize their constitutional rights and stop withholding money from their paychecks.
Nicolo Giangrasso is a plumber who works for the Hamilton Township School District. When he began working there, he joined the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, Local 9 (UA Local 9). Since then, the school district has withheld union dues from its union paychecks.
When Mr. Giangrasso learned of his rights in Janus v. AFSCME learned, he sent a letter to UA Local 9 renouncing his union membership and calling for an end to dues deduction. The union refused, claiming that the Janus decision did not apply to Mr. Giangrasso because the union referred to the money deducted from his paychecks as “assessments” rather than “contributions.”
But what the union calls the money doesn't matter – in the Janus decision, the Supreme Court ruled that workers who did not consent would not be deprived of dues or agency fees “or any other form of payment to a public sector union.” are allowed to exercise restraint.
On August 1, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit on Mr. Giangrasso's behalf, arguing that the union and school district are violating his First Amendment rights under Janus by continuing to collect contributions from his paycheck without his consent. The lawsuit asks the court to require the union to recognize Mr. Giangrasso's rights and to stop deducting union dues and fees from his paychecks. The lawsuit also asks the court to require the union to return the money that was illegally taken from Mr. Giangrasso after he resigned from the union.
“Under Janus, government workers cannot be forced to pay money to a union to keep their jobs. But that is exactly what is happening to Mr. Giangrasso,” said Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center. “Government employees have the right under the First Amendment to decide whether to use their money to support public sector unions—and whatever the union may claim, workers do not lose their constitutional rights just because a union puts that money in “levies.” renamed instead of “Contributions.”
“I was told I had to join the union and pay dues to keep my government job. And now that I've learned of my right to leave, the union is still trying to steal my money by playing word games about “dues” versus “notices.” “What they are doing is illegal,” said plaintiff Nicolo Giangrasso. “I am grateful that the Liberty Justice Center stepped in to defend my rights.”
Giangrasso v. United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, Local 9, was filed on August 1, 2024 in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
The Liberty Justice Center's legal brief in Giangrasso v. United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, Local 9 is available here.
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