American Postal Workers Union v. United States Postal Service

595 F. Supp. 1352, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23302
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedSeptember 25, 1984
DocketCiv. A. No. 84-270
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 595 F. Supp. 1352 (American Postal Workers Union v. United States Postal Service) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American Postal Workers Union v. United States Postal Service, 595 F. Supp. 1352, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23302 (D.D.C. 1984).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

JOHN GARRETT PENN, District Judge.

This is an action brought by the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO (APWU)1, to have declared unconstitutional and to enjoin the enforcement of certain United States Postal Service (USPS) “guidelines” which restrict the use of postal premises for voter registration and polling. APWU brings this action on its own behalf, on behalf of its members, and on behalf of postal employees represented by it. The matter is before the Court on cross-motions for summary judgment.

I

Prior to this election year, locals affiliated with the APWU had, either with the permission or acquiescence of local postmasters 2, registered voters on postal premises3. Although by contract and regulation4 APWU was not granted a right of access to postal premises for this purpose, [1355]*1355the fact remains that APWU, through its affiliated locals, had been permitted to register voters on postal premises at certain locations for sometime5.

In this election year APWU once again planned to register postal employees and the public on postal premises6. However, on December 1, 1983,7 the USPS issued a set of “guidelines”8 which, inter alia, prohibited all postal employees and “any organization which participate^] or intervene[s] in [a] political campaign on behalf of [a] candidate” from registering voters on postal premises. See Postal Bulletin 21434, 12-1-83, at 99. Since the issuance of the guidelines, local postmasters have prohibited APWU from registering voters on postal premises on the ground that the APWU “participate[s] or intervene^] in [a] political campaign on behalf of [a] candidate” within the meaning of the guidelines 10.

On January 24, 1984, APWU filed this action challenging Sections (A)(1) and (A)(3) of the guidelines11. Plaintiff seeks a declaratory judgment that the aforementioned provisions violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and seeks an injunction against their implementation and enforcement. The Court will examine each of these provisions in turn.

II

1. Section (A)(1)

Section (A)(1) provides that a postmaster may approve voter registration requests only if the registration is

conducted by government agencies or nonprofit civic leagues or organizations that operate for the promotion of social welfare but do not participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for any public office.

Postal Bulletin 21434, 12-1-83, at 9. As noted above12, USPS, through its local postmasters, has denied APWU and its affiliated locals access to postal premises for the purpose of registering voters, on the grounds that APWU is an organization that “participate[s] or intervene[s] in [a] political campaign on behalf of [a] candidate for [a] public office”13. APWU challenges this provision both as written and as applied to them14, 15.

[1356]*1356a. Section (A)(1) as written

The case which controls the Court’s review of Section (A)(1) is Perry Education Assn. v. Perry Local Educators’ Assn., 460 U.S. 37, 103 S.Ct. 948, 74 L.Ed.2d 794 (1983); see also NAACP v. Devine, 727 F.2d 1247 (D.C.Cir.1984), and Ysleta Fed. of Teachers v. Ysleta Independent School District, 720 F.2d 1429 (5th Cir.1983). Under Perry, a court’s first task is to determine whether the “property” in question is a “traditional public forum”, “limited public forum”, or “private forum” 16, for “[t]he existence of a right of access to public property and the standard by which limitations upon such a right must be evaluated differ depending on the character of the property at issue”. Perry 460 U.S. at 44, 103 S.Ct. at 954.

“Traditional public forums” are “places which by long tradition or by government fiat have been devoted to assembly and debate”. Id. at 45,103 S.Ct. at 954. The most often cited examples are “streets and parks which ‘have immemorially been held in trust for the use of the public and, time out of mind, have been used for purposes of assembly, communicating thoughts between citizens, and discussing public questions’ ”. Id. (citation omitted). No evidence has been submitted which would support a conclusion that post offices are traditional public forums17.

The second category of public property, “limited public forums”, consists of “public property which the State has opened for use by the public as a place for expressive activity”. Id. This is property which was not initially created or designated as a public forum but which has, in essence, been transformed into a public forum because the State has opened it to the public as a place for expressive activity. Id. at 45-47, 103 S.Ct. at 954-956. As is discussed more fully below, the State need not open the facility to the public at large or for all expressive activity for the conversion to a limited public forum to occur. Although Perry suggests that this is the clearest case of a limited public forum, “selective access”, either in terms of the activity permitted, or the groups admitted, may at times suffice18. The government need not retain the “open” character of the facility indefinitely just because it has at some time opened it to the public. Id. at 46,103 S.Ct. at 955.19 However, as long as the facility does remain open to the public for expressive activity, the standards applicable to public forums apply. Id.20

Both the facts and language of Perry make it clear that a limited public forum is not easily created. As noted above, there are two principal ways that a limited public forum may result. One way is where there is “indiscriminate use by the general public [for the desired activity]”, where “permission [is] granted as a matter of course to all who seek [access for the purpose at issue]”. Id. at 47, 103 S.Ct. at 956. This does not describe the instant case21. A second way is through “selective access”. This is where access to the facility is not granted to the public at large, but to select groups or for select expressive purposes. [1357]*1357See Perry at 46-48 and n. 7, 103 S.Ct. at 955-56 and n. 7. Perry indicates, however, that selective access, in and of itself, will not necessarily (and not often) suffice22. In Perry a union sought access to a school mail system. The Supreme Court held that periodic use of the mail system by private non-school-connected groups was insufficient to create a limited public forum, id. at 47, 103 S.Ct. at 956; that regular access by other organizations, including another union, would not suffice,

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Bluebook (online)
595 F. Supp. 1352, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23302, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-postal-workers-union-v-united-states-postal-service-dcd-1984.