Lowary v. Lexington Local Board of Education

704 F. Supp. 1430, 127 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2223, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14145, 1988 WL 146527
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedOctober 21, 1987
DocketC86-1536A
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 704 F. Supp. 1430 (Lowary v. Lexington Local 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
Lowary v. Lexington Local Board of Education, 704 F. Supp. 1430, 127 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2223, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14145, 1988 WL 146527 (N.D. Ohio 1987).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

DOWD, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

The plaintiffs, William Lowary and Sara Wyatt, have brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against defendants Lexington Local Board of Education and its members and officers, Robert Whitney, Mark Plotnick, Susan Umbarger, James Bollinger, Rick Bell, Helen Gilroy, the Lexington Teachers Association, and the Ohio Education Association. In their complaint, the plaintiffs allege that fair-share provisions of the collective bargaining agreement between the Lexington Teachers Association (LTA) and the Lexington Local Board of Education violates the constitutional rights of the plaintiffs as protected by the first and fourteenth amendments. The plaintiffs also allege that § 4117.09(C) of the Ohio Revised Code, which authorizes employers and unions to include an agency shop provision in the collective bargaining agreement, is unconstitutional. The State of Ohio, through Attorney General Anthony J. Celebrezze, Jr., has intervened to defend the constitutionality of the statute.

The parties have stipulated the following facts to the Court, which constitutes all the facts necessary for the Court to decide the issues in this case.

II. JOINT STIPULATIONS OF FACT. 1

A. The 1984-85 School Year.

1. William Lowary and Sara Wyatt were employed as teachers by the Lexing *1433 ton Local Board of Education (“School Board”).

2. The School Board, pursuant to O.R.C. § 4117.04, had recognized the Lexington Teachers Association (LTA) as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of all teachers in the school district.

3. The LTA was affiliated with the Ohio Edison Association (OEA), the National Education Association (NEA) and the North Central Ohio Education Association (NCOEA).

4. Plaintiffs were not members of the Lexington Teachers Association or any of its affiliates.

5. Beginning with the 1984-85 school year, the School Board and the LTA agreed to a “fair share fee” clause in their collective bargaining agreement. That clause stated:

ITEM 10 — Fair Share Fee:

1. The fair share fee shall be an exclusive right conferred upon the Lexington Teachers’ Association, as the exclusive bargaining agent. Each bargaining unit employee, upon employment and re-employment, shall annually either:
a. Sign and deliver to the Association an application for Association membership and, unless the annual dues are paid by cash, check, money order, or other approved method, sign and deliver to the Association an authorization to the Treasurer for payroll deduction of membership dues. The Treasurer, upon written notice from the president of the Association that a member has terminated membership, shall forthwith commence the check-off of the representation fee and assessments with respect to the former member and the amount of the fee for the remainder of the school year shall be the annual representation fee and uniformly applied assessments less the amount of Association annual dues or previously paid through payroll deduction, or;
b. In lieu of becoming a member of the Association, authorize the Treasurer to check off from the wages of the employee and pay to the Association an annual fair share fee equivalent to the total annual dues and uniformly applied assessments of the United Teaching Profession. All contracts of employment for positions in the bargaining unit shall contain the following language:
“This Contract of employment is subject to the Master Contract between the Lexington Board of Education and the Lexington Teachers’ Association, the terms and conditions of which are incorporated herein by reference as through [sic] fully rewritten herein. By signing this Contract, I represent that I have been notified of the fair share fee provisions contained in the Master Contract, that I will, if I elect not to become, or remain, a member of the Association, pay to the Association the prescribed annual fees and uniformly applied assessments for service and benefits to be conferred upon me by the Association as my exclusive bargaining agent during the terms of my employment by the Board.”
2. The president of the Association shall by July 1 annually certify to the Treasurer of the Board of Education the amount of the annual fair share fee and uniformly applied assessments for the ensuing school year. The Treasurer, upon receipt of the certification of the amount of the fees and assessments shall, on the basis of the documents referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of Section 1 above, deduct the dues of Association members pursuant to the payroll deduction authorization and deduct the fees and assessments to the Association. The deductions shall be in equal amounts beginning with the first pay in November and continuing for a total of ten (10) consecutive pay periods. The failure or refusal of the Treasurer to deduct the fair share fee, due to court order or *1434 otherwise, shall not relieve the employee of his/her liability to the Association for the amount of the fair share fees and assessments.
3. Implementation
Upon the effective date of this Agreement, the Board and Association shall jointly notify in writing, each employee in the bargaining unit of this fair share fee agreement. Such notice shall have attached thereto a copy of the exact language of this Agreement. Any non-member of the Association who elects to continue employment with the Board after the thirty (30) day period shall be deemed to have consented to receive the services and benefits to be conferred by the Association as the exclusive bargaining agent and shall be liable to the Association for the annual fair share fee and uniformly applied assessments, which, during the first school year of this Agreement only, shall be pro-rated on a monthly basis. The provisions of this section shall be in accordance with the appropriate part(s) of the public employee Collective Bargaining law of the State of Ohio.

6. At the commencement of the 1984-85 school year, copies of the collective bargaining agreement, containing the above-quoted language, were distributed to all teachers, including plaintiffs, by the School Board. Plaintiffs were therefore aware of the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

7. On or about June 15, 1984, the LTA, pursuant to the terms of the fair share fee clause in the collective bargaining agreement, notified School Board Treasurer Helen Gilroy that the union dues and fair share fee amount owed from each teacher in the bargaining unit for the 1984-85 school year was $252.50.

8. The fair share fee of $252.50 for the 1984-85 year was equal to the amount of dues paid by voluntary members of the “United Teaching Professions,” which includes the LTA, OEA, NEA and NCOEA.

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704 F. Supp. 1430, 127 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2223, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14145, 1988 WL 146527, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lowary-v-lexington-local-board-of-education-ohnd-1987.