Posts tagged The Buckeye Institute

    School custodian appeals union wage case dismissal

    July 29, 2025 // According to the lawsuit, the union continued to remove dues for four months before stopping in April 2024. The suit says the union resumed removing dues in May 2024. The appeal argues the lower court erroneously ruled jurisdiction solely rests with the State Employment Labor Relations Board and goes against an Ohio Supreme Court ruling that Sheldon argues gives public employees the right to sue over private contract disputes, despite the Ohio Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act. Sheldon wants the union to stop removing dues from his paycheck and refund the money taken after he quit. He also wants an injunction to prevent further removal.

    Lucas County Employees Win Back Unconstitutionally Seized Money from AFSCME Union

    April 5, 2023 // Three Lucas County Job and Family Services (JFS) employees have emerged victorious in their federal civil rights lawsuit against the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Ohio Council 8 union. The employees, Penny Wilson, Theresa Fannin, and Kozait Elkhatib, charged AFSCME union bosses in December 2022 with seizing money from their paychecks in violation of the First Amendment. Wilson, Fannin, and Elkhatib received free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and The Buckeye Institute. They asserted their constitutional rights recognized in the landmark 2018 Foundation-won Janus v. AFSCME U.S. Supreme Court decision. In Janus, the Court declared it a First Amendment violation to force public sector workers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. The Court also ruled that union officials can only deduct money from the paycheck of a public sector employee who has voluntarily waived his or her Janus rights. Jay R. Carson,