Jeffrey Schwartz should not have to fund a union as a condition of keeping his job.
Jeffrey Schwartz works as a Government Documents Librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL). He loves his work and the opportunity to provide the public with access to official government publications, data and records.
His job places him in a bargaining unit represented by Brooklyn Library Guild, Local 1482, AFL-CIO. Mr. Schwartz resigned from the union in 2025 because he did not agree with certain union positions. He does not wish to financially support the union and sought to stop the deductions from his wages. Nonetheless, he was required to continue to pay the equivalent of union dues as a condition of his employment. Since then, he has paid approximately $1,000 to the union.
The First Amendment protects workers from being forced to subsidize union speech.
In Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31, the Liberty Justice Center secured a landmark U.S. Supreme Court victory establishing that public employees cannot be compelled to pay union dues or fees without their affirmative consent.
The Supreme Court held that “[n]either an agency fee nor any other payment to the union may be deducted from a nonmember’s wages,” unless the employee affirmatively agrees to pay. The Constitution does not permit the government to presume that a worker has waived his or her First Amendment rights.
Mr. Schwartz’s lawsuit argues that those protections apply here because, although BPL is formally organized as a not-for-profit corporation, New York City is so entwined with, and effectively controls, BPL that BPL’s conduct is fairly attributable to the City. Therefore, the First Amendment applies to BPL’s employment conditions, including the requirement that employees pay the union.
New York City is entwined with BPL’s governance and operations.
BPL was created by an act of the New York State Legislature to operate a public library system for Brooklyn residents. It provides public-library services and performs a wide range of civic and governmental functions.
The library is overwhelmingly publicly funded; operates in buildings owned by New York City; is subject to oversight by the New York City Comptroller; and is governed by a Board of Trustees in which approximately 26 of the 38 members are government appointees and public officials.
Its employees also participate in New York State’s public-employee retirement system.
Not only does the City’s influence profoundly affect the functions of the library, but its involvement reaches directly into BPL’s employment relationship with Mr. Schwartz. Under the collective bargaining agreement between BPL and the union, the union represents employees whose salaries are funded by New York City. The agreement also provides that bargaining over salaries, health insurance, pensions and other core employment terms is limited by City approval and funding decisions.
Because of this extensive involvement, the City is not merely an outside funder. It is deeply involved in BPL’s governance, budget, facilities and employee compensation and benefits.
The government cannot use a nominally private entity to avoid the First Amendment.
The Supreme Court has made clear that constitutional rights do not depend on labels. When the government creates an entity to serve governmental objectives and retains ongoing control over its management and operations, that entity must comply with constitutional limits.
Mr. Schwartz’s lawsuit argues that BPL’s compulsory-dues arrangement is fairly attributable to the government because of the City’s vast control and involvement in BPL’s governance and employment framework.
The lawsuit seeks a declaration that forcing Mr. Schwartz to pay money to the union without his affirmative consent violates the First Amendment. It also seeks to stop further compulsory deductions, recover dues and fees collected without his consent and obtain attorneys’ fees and costs.
Schwartz’s paycheck—and his First Amendment rights—do not belong to the union.
No employee should be required to financially support a union as a condition of employment when the government is responsible for the arrangement. The Liberty Justice Center is standing with Mr. Schwartz as he fights for the constitutional principle that public employees must be free to decide for themselves whether to join or support a union.
Schwartz v. Brooklyn Library Guild, Local 1482, AFL-CIO, et al. was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on September 21, 2026.
Jeffrey M. Schwab serves as Senior Counsel and Director of Litigation at the Liberty Justice Center, where he litigates cases to protect the rights to free speech, economic liberty, private property and other Constitutional rights in both federal and state courts across the country.