BROOKLYN, N.Y. | September 23, 2026— The Liberty Justice Center filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Brooklyn Public Library employee Jeffrey A. Schwartz, challenging the requirement that he pay union dues as a condition of his employment.
In Schwartz v. Brooklyn Library Guild, Local 1482, AFL-CIO et al., the Liberty Justice Center represents Schwartz, a Government Documents Librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL). The lawsuit challenges the continued deduction of union dues from his wages by BPL and Local 1482. It alleges that the arrangement is unconstitutional because the City of New York is so deeply entwined with BPL’s governance—especially with respect to employee pay and benefits—that BPL’s actions are fairly attributable to the government. As a result, the lawsuit argues, BPL employees are entitled to the same First Amendment protections as other public employees.
Schwartz resigned from the union in 2025 because he disagreed with certain positions taken by the union. Although he notified the union that he no longer wished to support it financially and sought to stop the deductions, BPL continues deducting the equivalent of union dues from his wages. Since then, approximately $1,000 in union dues has been deducted from his paychecks.
The Liberty Justice Center’s 2018 U.S. Supreme Court victory in Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31 established that public employees cannot be compelled to subsidize union speech without their affirmative consent. The lawsuit argues that Janus applies to Schwartz because BPL is extensively controlled by and entwined with the City of New York.
Although BPL is nominally organized as a not-for-profit corporation, the lawsuit alleges that it was created by the New York State Legislature, receives the vast majority of its funding from public sources, operates in City-owned facilities, is subject to City oversight and is governed by a Board of Trustees of whom approximately 26 of 38 members are government appointees or public officials. BPL is one of three independent public library systems serving New York City. The New York Public Library serves Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, while the Queens Public Library serves Queens.
The lawsuit further alleges that New York City controls key terms of employment at BPL. Under the collective bargaining agreement, the union represents employees whose salaries are funded by the City, and bargaining over salaries, health insurance, pensions and other benefits is limited by City approval and funding decisions.
“The First Amendment does not allow the government to compel an employee to fund a union without that employee’s affirmative consent,” said Jeffrey M. Schwab, Director of Litigation and Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center. “New York City cannot avoid its constitutional obligations simply by placing the library under a nominally private corporate label while retaining substantial control over its governance, funding and employment terms.”
The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief preventing the defendants from requiring Schwartz to pay dues, agency fees or other payments to the union without his affirmative consent. It also seeks damages for dues and fees collected from Schwartz, as well as attorneys’ fees and costs.
The Liberty Justice Center’s case, 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.
The Liberty Justice Center’s complaint in Schwartz v. Brooklyn Library Guild, Local 1482, AFL-CIO, et al. is available here.