Posts tagged San Bernardino County
Opinion: One mother’s fight against forced union dues
April 29, 2025 // Every pay period, a portion of my hard-earned wages disappears into the Teamsters’ “Health and Welfare Trust Retiree Plan.” It is likely this deduction isn’t just about healthcare for retirees. A portion of the funds may be channeled into the union’s shareholder activism — buying shares in companies and then pressuring corporate boards to adopt political positions I never agreed to support. The lawsuit challenges California’s Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, which essentially traps public employees like me in a financial relationship with unions we’ve explicitly rejected.
Freedom Foundation Takes the Teamsters to Court
April 16, 2025 // Although Ms. Tarbah is not a member of the Teamsters, a portion of her wages is automatically deducted every pay period and directed into the union’s “Health and Welfare Trust Retiree Plan.” While the plan is presented as a retiree health benefit, the lawsuit alleges that the funds are routinely used for union-driven initiatives that include political and ideological activity. “Karima Tarbah has a constitutional right to decide where her money goes and what causes she supports,” said Timothy Snowball, Litigation Counsel for the Freedom Foundation. “This case is about the fundamental right of every public employee to make choices that align with their own political conscience. California’s laws must align with the Constitution—not empower unions and governments to coerce funding.”
FREEDOM FOUNDATION WINS $75,000 FROM SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY IN PUBLIC RECORDS CASE
August 11, 2023 // Last November, the Superior Court of San Bernardino County agreed the Freedom Foundation was entitled to the contact information for county employees— information already freely provided to the unions — and ordered the county to compensate the organization for the costs incurred in the lawsuit. During the entire ordeal, county officials continued to drag their feet and cause needless — and expensive — delays. “The meter was running,” said Eric Stahlfeld, the Freedom Foundation’s chief litigation counsel. “The longer the case dragged on, the more time we spent on it and the higher their bill kept getting. “In cases like this, government agencies know they’re playing with house money,” Stahlfeld explained. “They couldn’t care less how much the process costs or how long it takes. That’s why ordinary people either don’t bother suing the government or don’t stick with it very long. They don’t have endless streams of money to pay lawyers.”