Oregon lawsuit seeks return of forced union fees
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Seeking the return of millions of dollars of forced union fees, 12 Oregon public employees have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the state’s three largest public sector unions, a smaller union, and affiliates.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that government workers can’t be required to contribute to labor groups.
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which was involved in the Supreme Court case, is handling the Oregon case and 200 others across the country.
The group said the suit, filed Thursday in federal court in Oregon, seeks fees collected in recent years from thousands of public sector employees who left their unions or never joined.
Defendants include the Service Employees International Union, American Federation of State, Local, and Municipal Employees, and the Oregon Education Association.
