Two Alaska state employees filed a lawsuit against the State of Alaska and the Alaska State Employees Association today for forcing them to pay union dues against their will.
According to the Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court ruling, union dues cannot be deducted from state employees’ paychecks without their “affirmative consent.”
Linda Creed, an environmental health technician for the Department of Environmental Conservation, opted out of her union, only to be put back in after a court restraining order was placed on the Dunleavy Administration. Since then, she has been paying union dues without her consent.
Tyler Riberio, an environmental impact analyst at the Department of Transportation, also opted out, only to be put back in.
Background: In fall 2019, Alaska administration issued an order to ensure no government employee was forced to pay union dues against their will.
But within weeks, the matter was tied up in state court and the Administration’s efforts to defend workers’ First Amendment rights and to implement the Supreme Court Janus ruling were halted.
Creed and Riberio brought their lawsuit with help from the Alaska Policy Forum and the Liberty Justice Center, the nonprofit law firm behind the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court case Janus v. AFSCME.
Click here to see the copy of the case.
Click here to see Complaint Exhibits A through D.
Read the article on Must Read Alaska.
