Issue

Workers' Rights

No government worker can be required to pay money to a government union as a condition of working in public service.

Your Voice, Your Dollars

If you work for a public school district, city hall, a state agency, another government body – or any other kind of local, state, or federal government entity – you have the right to decide whether you want to join a union at your workplace. If you decide union membership isn’t for you, then you are not obligated to pay the union at your workplace any kind of dues or fees, and you have the U.S. Supreme Court case Janus v. AFSCME to back you up on that.

The Liberty Justice Center represented Mark Janus all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to protect his right to spend his money how he wants. The decision to join or financially support a union is an important and deeply personal one for anyone who takes a government job. Before deciding whether union membership is right for you, it is important to know what’s at stake and what rights you have.

Our Cases Fighting For Workers' Rights

Our Fight in the News

WND
March 16, 2024

(WND)—A labor union representing school workers has agreed to stop taking dues from an employee who dropped out of the labor organization, but still was being forced to pay the organization. Liberty Justice Center says it’s a victory for workers’ rights. “It shouldn’t have taken a federal lawsuit, but we...

Center Square
March 13, 2024

(Center Square)—An Ohio union facing a federal lawsuit agreed to stop withholding union dues from a school district employee’s paycheck, the Liberty Justice Center announced Wednesday afternoon. The center filed a lawsuit February 20 against the Ohio Association of Public School Employees on behalf of Denise Cogar, a Perry Local...

American Family News
February 28, 2024

(American Family News)—Another legal fight over forced union dues is headed to court, this time involving a teachers’ union. The newest federal lawsuit is in Ohio, where teacher’s aide Denise Cogar quit her union only to be informed four months later the union was taking dues from her paycheck. The...

The Daily Signal
February 21, 2024

(The Daily Signal)—Suppose you joined a local gym several years ago, but after a while you discovered that you didn’t like some of the gym’s policies. So, you tell the gym that you no longer want to be a member and ask it to stop taking your monthly membership payments....

BNN Breaking News
February 20, 2024

(BNN Breaking News)—Denise Cogar, an Ohio teacher’s assistant, is challenging her school district and union over continued deduction of union dues after leaving the union. This case, mirroring the 2018 Janus v. AFSCME decision, could redefine the boundaries of workers’ rights and union powers. In the heart of Ohio, a...

The Center Square
February 20, 2024

(The Center Square)—An Ohio public school employee sued the Ohio Association of Public School Employees on Tuesday, accusing the union of continuing to take dues from her paycheck after she quit the union. The Liberty Justice Center, a Chicago-based nonprofit that challenges government overreach, educational freedom, free speech and other...