Complaint: Union officials repeatedly threatened worker with termination if he did not authorize union dues deductions in violation of his religious beliefs

Seattle, WA & Roseville, MI (August 27, 2026) – John Johnson, a security guard in Washington State, has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the International Union, Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA). Johnson’s lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Michigan, with free legal assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.

The federal lawsuit details how SPFPA officials are violating Johnson’s rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by refusing to accommodate his sincere religious objection to funding SPFPA or its local affiliate and engaging in quid pro quo harassment by threatening his employment unless he abandons his sincerely held religious beliefs.

Under Title VII, unions and employers must provide a religious accommodation to employees who hold a sincere religious objection to joining or financially supporting a union—except where doing so would impose an undue hardship. The lawsuit notes that rather than granting Johnson his legally required accommodation, SPFPA bosses told him that he would have to abandon his religious objection and pay the union or risk losing his job under the union contract’s forced-dues clause.

According to the lawsuit, Johnson became a target of SPFPA union bosses after he refused to sign a union “interest card,” which he was falsely informed meant that there was “no obligation to join or be a part of” the union. However, a close reading of the card showed that in reality, it would authorize the union to become his monopoly bargaining representative with his employer.

After enough of his colleagues signed these deceptive “interest cards,” SPFPA union bosses were installed at Johnson’s workplace, and SPFPA officials implemented a union contract that requires all employees, including Johnson, to pay dues or fees to the union or be fired. This forced-dues requirement violates Johnson’s religious beliefs.

As his lawsuit explains, SPFPA’s demands that Johnson subsidize union activities violate his faith, which is why he requires a religious accommodation under Title VII. Specifically, Johnson’s faith prohibits him from funding or supporting any organization unless it is done voluntarily, and it forbids him from funding organizations he believes “engage in dishonesty, deception, or misrepresentation.”

In late February, Johnson requested religious accommodation in a letter to SPFPA, offering to pay the equivalent of dues to a charity, a common accommodation for employees with religious objections to funding unions. After several communications with SPFPA officials, Johnson’s religious accommodation request was denied by those officials on April 1, 2026.

Following charges filed against SPFPA with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for illegal religious discrimination under Title VII, the EEOC granted Johnson the right to sue SPFPA in federal court to vindicate his rights under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That allowed Foundation staff attorneys to assist Johnson in filing his federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the district where SPFPA is headquartered.

“No employee in America should have to choose between compromising their religious convictions and giving in to illegal ‘pay up or be fired’ threats by union bullies,” stated National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Though SPFPA bosses’ actions here represent a clear violation of protections for employees of faith under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, this situation could have been avoided entirely if Johnson enjoyed Right to Work protections to ensure any union payments are strictly voluntary.

“Ultimately, no worker in America should be forced to fund a union they oppose, no matter whether their particular objection to the union is religious or not,” added Mix.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.