Thompson v. Marietta Educ. Ass'n

371 F. Supp. 3d 431
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedJanuary 14, 2019
DocketCase No. 2:18-cv-628
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 371 F. Supp. 3d 431 (Thompson v. Marietta Educ. Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thompson v. Marietta Educ. Ass'n, 371 F. Supp. 3d 431 (S.D. Ohio 2019).

Opinion

MICHAEL H. WATSON, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

Jade Thompson ("Plaintiff") sues the Marietta Education Association ("the Union") and Marietta Board of Education ("the Board") (collectively, "Defendants") under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. She argues that Ohio Revised Code § 4117.04 -05 is unconstitutional and moves for a preliminary injunction prohibiting Defendants from recognizing the Union as Plaintiff's representative. The State filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the statute. For the following reasons, the Court DENIES Plaintiff's motion.

I. FACTS

The following facts are taken from Plaintiff's Complaint and pertinent exhibits and declarations, and the Court addresses only those facts relevant to Plaintiff's remaining claim.1

Plaintiff is a Spanish teacher at Marietta High School in Washington County, Ohio. The Board manages and controls schools within the Marietta School District (including Marietta High School) and employs Plaintiff. The Union is an employee organization that represents employees of the Marietta School District. It is affiliated with the Ohio Education Association and the National Education Association.

The Board and the Union are parties to a collective bargaining agreement ("CBA"). The CBA establishes a bargaining unit of "all full and regular part-time certificated personnel employed under contract, including classroom teachers, special education teachers, psychologists, guidance counselors, librarians, school nurses, head *434teacher(s), attendance officer, resource teachers, and full-time substitutes employed sixty-one (61) or more consecutive days in the same position in a school year." CBA § 1.01, ECF No. 15-2. As such, Plaintiff is a member of the bargaining unit as defined in the CBA. Plaintiff is not, however, a member of the Union. Thompson Decl. ¶ 8, ECF No. 15-2. In fact, Plaintiff disagrees with the Union's position on several issues. Id. ¶¶ 12-17. Nonetheless, the CBA recognizes the Union as the "sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the members of the bargaining unit."2 CBA § 1.01, ECF No. 15-2. This provision is legal under Ohio law. Ohio Rev. Code § 4117.04 ("Public employers shall extend to an exclusive representative designated under section 4117.05 of the Revised Code, the right to represent exclusively the employees in the appropriate bargaining unit ...."); § 4117.05 (describing how "[a]n employee organization becomes the exclusive representative of all the public employees in an appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining ....").

Notwithstanding the designation of the Union as bargaining unit members' exclusive representative, bargaining unit members are neither required to join the Union nor to contribute financially to the Union. Benson Decl. ¶ 10, ECF No. 28-4; Ohio Rev. Code § 4117.03(A)(3) ("Public employees have the right to: (1) Form, join, assist, or participate in, or refrain from forming, joining, assisting, or participating in, except as otherwise provided in Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code, any employee organization of their own choosing ...."). Further, any bargaining unit member (whether a member of the Union or not) is "free to criticize [the Union's] positions or take positions different from those taken by [the Union]." Benson Decl. ¶ 11, ECF No. 28-4. Moreover, the Union recognizes that "there will always be teachers or other employees represented by [the Union] who disagree with its positions." Id. ¶ 12.

Plaintiff contends that Ohio law and the CBA have violated Plaintiff's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to free speech and free association3 by designating the Union as Plaintiff's exclusive representative. Specifically, she contends that the designation of the Union as her exclusive representative amounts to compelled speech and compelled association. She seeks a declaration that Ohio Revised Code §§ 4117.04 -.05 are unconstitutional and a preliminary injunction prohibiting Defendants from recognizing the Union as her representative.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Preliminary injunctions are "extraordinary and drastic remed[ies] ... never awarded as of right." Platt v. Bd. of Comm'rs on Grievances and Discipline of Ohio Supreme Court , 769 F.3d 447, 453 (6th Cir. 2014) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Nonetheless, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65 permits the Court to issue preliminary injunctions upon the satisfaction of certain requirements. The Court considers four factors in *435determining whether to grant injunctive relief: (1) whether the movant has established a substantial probability of success on the merits; (2) whether the movant would suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction; (3) whether an injunction would substantially harm third parties; and (4) whether an injunction would serve the public interest. Winnett v. Caterpillar, Inc. , 609 F.3d 404, 408 (6th Cir. 2010). The factors are not prerequisites; rather, they must be balanced in weighing the equities involved. Capobianco, D.C. v. Summers , 377 F.3d 559, 561 (6th Cir. 2004). The plaintiff bears the burden to justify such drastic relief, even in First Amendment cases, Platt , 769 F.3d at 453 (citation omitted), and it should "only be awarded upon a clear showing that the plaintiff is entitled to such relief." Winter v. Nat'l Res. Def. Council, Inc. , 555 U.S. 7, 22, 129 S.Ct.

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371 F. Supp. 3d 431, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thompson-v-marietta-educ-assn-ohsd-2019.