Barlow v. SEIU Loc. 668, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 855 (3d Cir. January 12, 2024) (Restrepo, C.J.).
Union members sued when they dropped out of union because of continued deductions for union membership. They did not wait until expiration, but rather wanted to have the union deductions stop as soon as they left the union. They sued under Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, 138 S. Ct. 2448 (2018). Janus demarcated the constitutional rights of non-members employed in agency shop arrangements who never elected to join a union, not members who voluntarily joined a union and later resigned. Accordingly, the district court properly dismissed appellant’s complaints. Third Circuit affirmed. Opinion written by Circuit Judge Restrepo. Contract law, not the First Amendment, governs this claim. The court cited for that proposition Cohen v. Cowles Media Company, 501 U.S. 663 (1991). Most circuit courts have found that Janus does not extend a First Amendment right to avoid paying union dues when those dues arise out of a contractual commitment. Also, the court said there is no due process issue. Finally, there was no contract issue because any state law claims would be outside the jurisdiction of federal courts and the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board has exclusive jurisdiction over matters stemming from allegations of unfair labor practices pursuant to PERA.
