<\/i><\/p>\n
Los Angeles, CA (January 15, 2019)<\/b> \u2013 With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a math professor from Ventura Country, California, is challenging an illegal \u201cwindow period\u201d scheme to forcibly seize union membership dues from his paycheck without his consent and in violation of his constitutional rights.<\/p>\n
Plaintiff Michael McCain filed a class action lawsuit on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against the American Federation of Teachers (AFT); Ventura County Federation of College Teachers, AFT Local 1828, AFL-CIO; and Ventura County Community College School District.<\/p>\n
A public employee who works for the Ventura County Community College School District, plaintiff Michael McCain attempted to exercise his First Amendment rights by resigning his union membership following the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME<\/i>, a case Foundation attorneys argued and won.<\/p>\n
The High Court ruled on June 27, 2018, that union bosses may not forcibly seize dues from public sector workers. Instead, government employees must knowingly waive their First Amendment right not to subsidize a union and affirmatively authorize deductions before union officials can collect membership dues or fees.<\/p>\n
However, AFT union officials never informed McCain of his First Amendment rights, making it impossible for him to have waived them. Union officials continue seizing membership dues from McCain\u2019s hard-earned wages, even after McCain resigned his union membership and made it clear in a letter sent to the union just weeks after the Janus<\/i> decision that he does not consent to dues deductions. Union officials claim that McCain can only cut off dues deductions during a union-created 15-day \u201cwindow period\u201d each year.<\/p>\n
McCain\u2019s class action lawsuit asks the court to strike down this unlawful \u201cwindow period\u201d scheme and order union officials to stop deducting unauthorized dues. His complaint also seeks a refund of membership dues that were wrongfully taken from him and hundreds, if not thousands, of other public employees.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnion officials have a long history of manipulating \u2018window period\u2019 schemes, arbitrary union-enacted limitations trapping workers into forced dues, and other obstacles designed to block individuals from exercising their constitutional rights,\u201d said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. \u201cDespite what union bosses say, First Amendments rights cannot be limited to just 15 days out of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Supreme Court affirmed the rights of public workers in the Foundation\u2019s victory in Janus<\/i>, but Michael\u2019s case shows union bosses are determined to defy the High Court and continue their abusive practices,\u201d Mix added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Union officials violate hundreds of public workers\u2019 constitutional rights under the Supreme Court\u2019s Janus decision by deducting unauthorized forced dues Los Angeles, CA (January 15, 2019) \u2013 With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a math professor from Ventura Country, California, is challenging an illegal \u201cwindow period\u201d scheme to forcibly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[888],"tags":[24,964,962,20,55,906,961,2784,960,965,963,357],"class_list":["post-10218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-afl-cio","tag-aft-local-1828","tag-american-federation-of-teachers-aft","tag-california","tag-first_amendment","tag-janus-v-afscme","tag-michael-mccain","tag-u-s-_supreme_court","tag-ventura-county","tag-ventura-county-community-college-school-district","tag-ventura-county-federation-of-college-teachers","tag-window_period"],"yoast_head":"\n