(The Center Square) – Three Ohio public employees who don’t want to be in a union have filed a lawsuit to stop union dues from being taken from their paychecks.
With the help of The Buckeye Institute, the three have sued the Ohio Association of Public School Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees that asks for their money back and for dues to stop being deducted.
“Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, government unions have claimed that members can quit the union, but union officials will continue to take dues out of workers’ paychecks,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute and an attorney representing the three. “This is a bit like the ‘Hotel California,’ where you can check out, but you can never leave.”
The three are employees in Stark County in northeast Ohio.
Kevin Chandler is a bus driver for the Perry Local Schools, and Amy Clark is a bus aide in the same system. Charles Perry is a technician with the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority.
Chandler says he resigned from the union in April 2024, and Clark resigned in August 2024. The union recognized both resignations in September 2024, but both employees claim dues continued to be removed from their checks.
Perry also resigned in August 2024, but dues continued to be removed until December 2024, when the union recognized his resignation.
The three want dues to stop being taken from Chandler’s and Clark’s paychecks, along with an injunction to stop further dues deductions.
They also want money refunded, along with costs and attorneys’ fees.
