Posts tagged Janus v. AFSCME
Liberty Justice Center Sues Brooklyn Library Union Over Compulsory Dues
September 28, 2026 // The Liberty Justice Center filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Brooklyn Public Library employee Jeffrey A. Schwartz, challenging the requirement that he pay union dues as a condition of his employment. In Schwartz v. Brooklyn Library Guild, Local 1482, AFL-CIO et al., the Liberty Justice Center represents Schwartz, a Government Documents Librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL). The lawsuit challenges the continued deduction of union dues from his wages by BPL and Local 1482. It alleges that the arrangement is unconstitutional because the City of New York is so deeply entwined with BPL’s governance—especially with respect to employee pay and benefits—that BPL’s actions are fairly attributable to the government. As a result, the lawsuit argues, BPL employees are entitled to the same First Amendment protections as other public employees.
Reed Larson built a movement for the long fight
September 24, 2026 // As union membership continues a decadeslong decline, nearing historic lows, union officials are spending billions on politics every election cycle. Traditionally, Democrats have been the main recipients of union political funding. However, major unions, notably the Teamsters, have begun to turn toward populist Republicans to advance their legislative agenda. Teamsters head Sean O’Brien has taken up with Republicans such as Sen. Josh Hawley (MO), who, along with union-label Democrats, introduced the Teamsters-endorsed FLCA into the Senate.
Commentary: Are Unions Rising from the Political Grave?
September 21, 2026 // Here again, however, there may be less than meets the eye. Despite its surprising bipartisan support, the FLCA would raise significant constitutional questions if enacted. By relying on a government-mandated arbitration panel to resolve labor disputes, the law effectively empowers the state to impose contractual terms on private parties—a form of what constitutional lawyers call “state action.” As attorneys Alex MacDonald and Vinnie Vernuccio observe: “[S]tate action opens the door to a slew of constitutional requirements and restrictions, notably to protect rights of free speech and association.”
A teacher’s disagreement with WEA shows why public workers need to know their rights
September 21, 2026 // Travis Reep, a fifth-grade teacher in Thurston County, agrees with that statement from Washington state Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal. But in a recent Yes on Initiative 001 video, Reep says Reykdal’s actions — and those of the Washington Education Association, his union — do not match those words. Reep is a father of four, an elected local union representative and a WEA member. He disagrees with WEA’s opposition to I-001, an initiative that, among other provisions, would restore parents’ access to school-held medical and mental-health counseling records, require prior notification when medical services are offered, except in emergencies, and require notification when schools arrange treatment involving follow-up care beyond normal school hours.
Op-ed: Sean O’Brien is just Randi Weingarten in a hard hat
September 20, 2026 // Unions across sectors, including the AFL-CIO, the SEIU, and largely private-sector Communications Workers of America, want contracts to cover sex change procedures and abortions, while other unions demand workers submit to diversity, equity, and inclusion programming. Conservatives should not expect organized labor, whose members are now nearly half directly employed by governments, to be anything other than fully committed to Big Government and other entities that support Everything Leftism. There’s no clean way to divide organized labor against itself, so any conservative who wants to empower union bosses needs to know they are empowering all of them, including the ones they know better than to help.
Hochul accused of ‘hit job’ on behalf of teachers’ unions in act of ‘pure censorship’: labor group
September 15, 2026 // "This is an anti-speech law aimed at one kind of speaker," said Withe. He asserted that the New York law was "copied" from a similar measure in Oregon, which the Freedom Foundation is already challenging in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He said his organization will "make the same case here." Fox News Digital spoke with Ryan Walters, former superintendent of Oklahoma public schools and CEO of Freedom Foundation’s education arm, the Teacher Freedom Alliance. Walters called the New York law an example of "pure censorship and targeting of political opponents by Democrats protecting their union bosses."
Government Unions Are Making a Comeback — and Taxpayers Will Pay the Price
September 15, 2026 // Taken together, those same four unions have added back more than 230,000 members since 2024, the Commonwealth Foundation reports. That’s a 3.5 percent jump, and it has wiped out most of what looked like a permanent decline. Two of the four unions, AFSCME and SEIU, now have more members than they did before Janus. Only one union, the NEA, is still losing members, but even that decline has slowed.
Michigan earns ‘D’ in government union, worker freedom report
September 10, 2026 // The report called many of these actions taken by states and unions “anti-freedom” proposals which leave workers confused on their rights and obligations. “Union executives are spending tens of millions of dollars to rewrite the rules of the game and bolster their political machine in every state, at the expense of freedom for government employees,” Osborne said. “State lawmakers across the country must stand up against anti-freedom labor proposals to ensure that every American worker has the right to choose whether or not to associate with a union, without coercion or fear, and that their hard-earned dollars don’t fund a political agenda they don’t support.”
Victory for Louisiana workers and First Amendment rights
September 1, 2026 // In 2018, the Supreme Court settled a fundamental question of constitutional law in Janus v. AFSCME. The Court held, with clarity and conviction, that public employees cannot be compelled to pay union dues as a condition of their employment. This ruling was a massive victory for the First Amendment, affirming that no public servant should be forced to subsidize a private organization’s political agenda against their own will.
IAFF Local 3631 Settles Case for Denying Retirement Benefits to Nonmember Firefighter
August 27, 2026 // Peter Crary, a Fire Apparatus Engineer who has served his community for over 20 years with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), has prevailed in his dispute with International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 3631 union bosses, and OCFA officials. IAFF Local 3631 bosses moved to settle after the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) issued a complaint against the union for violating Crary’s rights. Crary’s settlement was secured with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.