More than six years after the Supreme Court's decision in Janus v. AFSCME, government employees are still engaged in legal battles with public-sector unions over their rights. The Liberty Justice Center has filed three lawsuits on behalf of government workers against their respective unions.
The Janus ruling established that public-sector employees have a First Amendment right to decide whether to join or financially support a union. Unions cannot legally deduct dues from paychecks unless employees "affirmatively consent" to waive this right.
One lawsuit involves Andre Sneed, an employee of the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways, who is suing Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), Local 1092. Sneed alleges that the union violated his First Amendment rights by requiring him to continue paying dues after resigning his membership. The union claims that Sneed's signed authorization for dues deductions is "irrevocable" as long as he remains in a bargaining unit represented by the union. This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern District of Illinois on March 11, 2025.
Another lawsuit represents Martine Uniatowski, a part-time employee at Bay Village City School District in Ohio, against the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) Local 579. Uniatowski claims she was pressured into signing a union membership agreement without being able to read it due to not having her glasses at the time. Despite resigning from the union and attempting multiple times to stop dues deductions, she continues to have money deducted from her paychecks without her affirmative consent. This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern District of Ohio on March 11, 2025.
The third lawsuit involves three Chicago Transit Authority bus operators—Nicole Williams, Christopher Williams, and Miguel Perez—against Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 241. They claim that despite requests, they have not received required financial audits and reports from the union as stipulated by its bylaws. This lawsuit seeks to compel the release of these documents and was filed in Cook County Circuit Court's Chancery Division on March 11, 2025.
Jeffrey Schwab, Senior Counsel at Liberty Justice Center stated: “Public-sector unions continue to place barriers for government employees who wish to stop being union members and stop paying union dues in ways that violate the Supreme Court’s Janus decision.” He added that unions often resist accountability regarding how they spend collected dues.