McGlumphy v. Fraternal Order of Police

633 F. Supp. 1074, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26680
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedApril 16, 1986
DocketC85-2279A
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 633 F. Supp. 1074 (McGlumphy v. Fraternal Order of Police) 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
McGlumphy v. Fraternal Order of Police, 633 F. Supp. 1074, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26680 (N.D. Ohio 1986).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

DOWD, District Judge.

Before the Court are the motions of the defendants, Fraternal Order of Police (F.O. P.), Robert Offret, and Howard Fallon, 1 and the City of Akron, for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The plaintiffs, Darwin McGlumphy, Russell Murphy, David Fuller, Stephen Geiger, John Smith, Sloan Heare, Dale Stoltz, and Jim McFarland, have filed a response to the defendants’ motions and have also filed a motion for summary judgment. Also before the Court is the City of Akron’s motion for summary judgment against the F.O.P., Of-fret, and Fallon, on its cross-claim for indemnity. 2

I.

The plaintiffs are patrolmen employed by the Akron Police Department. 3 The plaintiffs are not members of the Fraternal Order of Police, Akron Lodge No. 7 (F.O. P.), however, the “employee organization” that acts as the “exclusive representative” of the police patrolmen. 4 As the exclusive representative, the F.O.P. is entitled to bargain collectively with the public employer, in this situation the City of Akron. See Ohio Rev.Code Ann. § 4117.05 (Supp.1985). Although an entity designated as the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit *1076 represents all of the employees within the bargaining unit, all members within the bargaining unit are not required by law to become members of the entity designated as the exclusive representative. See id. § 4117.09(C). The statute provides, however, that the collective bargaining agreement entered into between an employer and a bargaining organization contain a provision requiring “that the employees in the unit who are not members of the employee organization pay to the employee organization a fair share fee.” Id. In this way, the statute resolves the “free rider” problem that arises when nonunion employees benefit from the union’s collective bargaining activities but avoid contributing a portion of the collective bargaining expenses. See Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, 431 U.S. 209, 224, 97 S.Ct. 1782, 1793-94, 52 L.Ed.2d 261 (1976).

Where a fair share system is implemented, the statute provides that

[a]ny public employee organization representing public employees pursuant to Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code shall prescribe an internal procedure to determine a rebate, if any, for nonmembers which conforms to federal law, provided a nonmember makes a timely demand on the employee organization ... The internal rebate procedure shall provide for a rebate of expenditures in support of partisan politics or ideological causes not germaine to the work of employee organizations in the realm of collective bargaining.

Ohio Rev.Code Ann. § 4117.09(C) (Supp. 1985). It is the rebate procedure implemented by the F.O.P. pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement with the City of Akron that the plaintiffs contest in their lawsuit.

II.

In Count I of the complaint, the plaintiffs allege a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that the rebate procedure established by the F.O.P. is constitutionally insufficient. The plaintiffs allege that the defendant F.O.P. is using fair share dues collected from non-F.O.P. members for purposes unrelated to collective bargaining, contract administration, and grievance adjustment, and that this conduct amounts to an involuntary loan in violation of the right to free association guaranteed by the first amendment, and the right to due process liberty protected by the fourteenth amendment. The plaintiffs request a determination from this Court that the F.O.P.’s rebate system is unconstitutional. The plaintiffs also request the Court to order the F.O.P. to establish a rebate procedure that provides for a timely and proper return of those portions of the fair share fee wrongfully retained by the defendants.

In Count II, the plaintiffs allege a cause of action based on common law breach of contract. 5 The plaintiffs claim that the F.O.P. has failed to establish an internal procedure to determine the rebate of fair share fees as required under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. The plaintiffs also allege a violation of a clause in the collective bargaining agreement prohibiting the F.O.P. from discriminating against individuals who are not members of the F.O.P.

III.

On April 17, 1984, F.O.P. Lodge No. 7 and the City of Akron entered into a collective bargaining agreement. Defendant F.O.P.’s Exhibit D. The agreement allows the city to deduct union dues from members of the bargaining unit who signed payroll authorization deduction cards. The agreement further provides that “all sworn police officers who are not members of the FOP shall become and remain members in good standing of the FOP or shall pay to the FOP a fair share fee equal to the regular and usual dues of an FOP mem *1077 ber.” 6 In addition, “[t]he FOP shall prescribe an internal procedure to determine a rebate, if any.” The F.O.P. designated the fair share fee for nonmembers at its monthly meeting in July of 1984. Defendant F.O.P.’s Exhibit E. The F.O.P. also established a rebate procedure through the following language in a letter memorializing the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement regarding the establishment of a fair share and rebate system:

This will serve as notice that F.O.P. Akron Lodge No. 7 has established a fair-share fee of $7.93 per month. In the future, the fair-share amount shall be increased equal to the amount of increase in the pay range 80, step “F”, hourly wage. The fair-share fee is to be deducted by payroll deduction from all nonmembers of the bargaining unit as prescribed in the agreement. This amount will not exceed twelve (12) monthly installments per year and will not exceed the length of the agreement, unless extended by mutual agreement. F.O.P. Akron Lodge No. 7 has established a rebate committee to maintain a review of expenditures for the agreement in effect. THE AGREEMENT between the City Of Akron and F.O.P. Akron Lodge No. 7, dated April, 1984, Article II, C-2 reads, “The F.O.P. shall prescribe an internal procedure to determine a rebate, if any”. THE REBATE COMMITTEE mil report annually in the month of December at the regular F. O.P. meeting. This report will reflect expenses related to the costs of negotiations and maintenance of the agreement.

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Bluebook (online)
633 F. Supp. 1074, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26680, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcglumphy-v-fraternal-order-of-police-ohnd-1986.