New York professors' union is target of class action lawsuit
Plaintiffs seek to recoup fees no longer allowed after Supreme Court's Janus decision
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Professors-union-is-target-of-class-action-13664046.php
ALBANY — New York’s major teachers’ unions are defending against a class action lawsuit in which college professors who were not union members are demanding retroactive repayment of dues-like fees in the wake of last June’s U.S. Supreme Court Janus decision.If the plaintiff in Seidemann v Professional Staff Congress (PSC) were to win, it could set a precedent costing public sector unions several years’ worth of agency fees the instructors paid out over the past several years.
“Unconstitutional agency fees were taken from the paychecks of teachers and professors against their will. This money, taken over multiple years, adds up to significant sums,” David Seidemann’s lawyer, Jonathan Klein, of the Clark Hill firm, said in an email.
“Professor Seidemann's lawsuit is one of a number of identical lawsuits filed by anti-union activists across the country,” PSC President Barbara Bowen said in a prepared statement.
“Every one of these cases that has been decided has been dismissed as meritless. We are confident that Professor Seidemann's case will also be found to be without merit."
David Seidemann is a professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Brooklyn College, which is part of the City University of New York system. PSC is the union representing instructors and others at CUNY.
Because dues and fees are shared among sister and umbrella unions, United University Professions, which represents State University of New York professors, as well as New York State United Teachers, which represents K-12 public school teachers, are also named in the class action suit. Also named are the AFL-CIO and American Association of University Professors Collective Bargaining Congress.
Lawsuits like this have failed so far since there is no indication that unions acted wrongfully in collecting the fees before the Janus decision, said union officials.
“Judges across the country have been very consistent in ruling in favor of the unions because of the good faith defenses,” said UUP President Fred Kowal.
NYSUT spokesman Matt Hamilton added that they are looking to dismiss the legal complaint. “We are confident we will prevail,” he said in an email.
Seidemann said in an email that the firm representing him is doing so pro bono, which he added is “something I am very grateful for.”
His agency fees ran about $1,000 annually and he believes he is owed three years’ worth, based on a statute of limitations. It wasn’t immediately clear how many other plaintiffs in the class action suit would get refunds were he to prevail.
In the landmark Janus decision, the Supreme Court ruled that members of public sector unions aren’t required to pay “agency fees,’’ or dues-like payments if they aren’t enrolled in a union but are nonetheless represented by a union.
Started by an Illinois state employee, Mark Janus, who disagreed with his union’s politics, the decision was hailed as a victory for union critics and conservatives and as a setback for public sector unions.
Without the mandatory agency fees, public sector employees can still reap the benefits of union membership such as collective bargaining but they don’t have to pay anything.
The fear is this could eventually degrade the finances of many unions if too many employees chose to stop paying their dues, knowing that they won’t instead have to pay agencies fees.
The Professional Staff Congress Union represents about 30,000 CUNY faculty and staff members.
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