Gillespie v. Willard City Board of Education

700 F. Supp. 898, 128 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2939, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14357, 1987 WL 49418
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedSeptember 28, 1987
DocketC87-7043
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 700 F. Supp. 898 (Gillespie v. Willard City Board of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gillespie v. Willard City Board of Education, 700 F. Supp. 898, 128 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2939, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14357, 1987 WL 49418 (N.D. Ohio 1987).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

McQUADE, District Judge.

This case presents challenges to the constitutionality of the procedures established by various union organizations and the Willard School Board for collecting and determining agency fees. Agency fees are assessed by unions against non-members who receive the benefits of union bargaining and contract administration. These challenges are being considered in light of the standards the Supreme Court set forth in Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson, 475 U.S. 292, 106 S.Ct. 1066, 89 L.Ed.2d 232 (1986) (“Hudson”), and the ruling of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Tierney v. Toledo, 824 F.2d 1497 (6th Cir.1987). Plaintiffs contend that the Ohio law permitting such agency fee collections violates the U.S. Constitution. Furthermore, plaintiffs have brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, arguing that their money has been taken without due process of law.

Plaintiffs are employees of the Willard School Board of Education. Leo Dotson, Marianna Gillespie, Mary Appellof, Linda Hutchins, Marilyn Sands and Karen Myers are teachers. Rita DeVault and Gordon Miller are employees in the Pupil Personnel Services Department. Plaintiffs are represented by the defendant Willard Education Association (WEA), but are not members of that organization nor the Ohio Education Association (OEA), a WEA affiliate organization also named as a defendant in this action. Since these plaintiffs are represented by these organizations and receive the benefits of union bargaining and contract administration, they are assessed agency fees, also called fair share fees.

The defendant, Willard Board of Education, is a political subdivision of the state and a public employer within the meaning of O.R.C. 4117.01(B).

WEA and the school board reached its most recent agreement providing for the collection of agency fees on September 1, 1986, and modified it on October 30, 1986 by a memorandum of understanding.

Defendants started collection of the agency fees in November of 1986, except for individuals employed after October 31, 1986. For those individuals hired after that date, agency fees were collected from their second paycheck.

The procedure for the collection of agency fees is set forth as follows: (1) Deductions are made from all Willard School Board Employees covered by the agreement between WEA and school board; (2) Notice of the amount of the annual fair share fee, which shall not be more than 100% of the unified dues 1 of the association, is to be provided to all nonunion members. Notice is to be furnished by first-class mail to all nonunion members at his/her home by November 15 of each year or whenever the independent auditors’ reports are received, whichever is later. See Stipulations Exhibits C at 2; (3) The notice must state the amount of the association determined fair share fee for the current membership year, as well as an explanation of how the fee was calculated. In addition, the following items must be provided:

A copy of the WEA’s independent certified public accountant’s audit report for the preceding membership year;
*901 A copy of the OEA’s independent certified public accountant’s audit report for the preceding membership year;
Where applicable/available, a copy of the appropriate district association’s certified public accountant’s audit report for the preceding membership year;
Copies of the adopted budgets for the current membership year of the WEA, the OEA, the appropriate district association, and the local association;
A copy of the OEA Fair Share fee rebate procedure.

See Stipulations, Exhibit C at 2.

(4) This year, the first agency fees were collected before notice was sent to the nonunion members. Notice reached all but one nonunion member about one month later. One plaintiff, Leo Dotson, did not receive the packet of information at that time in that he was inadvertently listed as a life member of the OEA. He received the information in February, 1987. See Stipulation 15 at note 2; (5) Upon receipt of this notice, dissenters have 30 days to file objections to the collection of the agency fees; (6) Dissenters have the option of an early rebate. If they exercise this option, they forfeit the right to a hearing before an impartial decisionmaker; (7) the second option allows dissenting members to be heard by an impartial decisionmaker. Meanwhile, 100% of the dues paid by members is collected from the nonunion members’ paycheck, and that money is placed into an interest-bearing escrow account within ten (10) days after an objection is received. It remains in that account until a determination of a rebate amount has been made by an impartial decisionmaker; (8) An impartial decisionmaker is selected from the American Arbitration Association, [hereinafter AAA], under the AAA’s Rules for Impartial Determination of Union Fees. See, Stipulations, Exhibit F-4; (9) The rebate amount is based upon OEA’s preceding membership year. The total OEA impermissible expenditures are compared with the total OEA expenditures. The result is the amount that is applied to determine part of the rebate amount. The WEA makes a similar calculation to determine its portion of the dues which should be rebated. See, Stipulations, Exhibit C at 2.

Plaintiffs and defendants each are seeking summary judgment. Plaintiffs also desire injunctive relief and restitution of collected agency fees, plus interest. Plaintiffs argue that the defendants’ system for collection of agency fees is constitutionally inadequate under both Hudson and Tier-ney. Defendants also seek summary judgment arguing that the procedure for the collection and challenge of agency fees is constitutionally sound and meets all of the requirements set forth in Hudson. Defendants further contend that the court need not find that this system comports with the requirements of Tierney, in that the facts of each case require different results.

The parties have stipulated to the facts in this case. See Stipulations of Fact. Based upon these stipulations, the court finds that there are no genuine issues of material fact that would prevent the entry of summary judgment for the party prevailing on the questions of law presented by the motions. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56.

I

Plaintiffs allege that the collection of the agency fees violates the plaintiffs’ due process rights because the government is “taking” their property without appropriate procedural safeguards. The court finds that the plaintiffs’ argument is without merit.

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Bluebook (online)
700 F. Supp. 898, 128 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2939, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14357, 1987 WL 49418, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gillespie-v-willard-city-board-of-education-ohnd-1987.