NY law unconstitutionally forces professors under “representation” of anti-Semitic union.
Professors from the City University of New York (CUNY) are seeking to dissociate from the Professional Staff Congress (PSC) union officials in a case that is now fully briefed and is expected to be conferenced next month at the U.S. Supreme Court.
The professors, five of whom are Jewish, want to dissociate completely from PSC based for what the professors call highly anti-Semitic and anti-Israel public statements.
New York state law, however, forces the professors to accept the union’s so-called “representation.”
According to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation (NRWL) their petition received significant amicus support in the form of a dozen amicus briefs urging the Justices to take the case.
Per NRWL:
The final brief has been submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court urging the court to hear the case six City University of New York (CUNY) professors’ First Amendment case challenging the monopoly representation powers of Professional Staff Congress (PSC) union officials. The case is now fully briefed and is expected to be conferenced next month.
The professors, five of whom are Jewish, want to dissociate completely from PSC based on public statements and other actions the professors find highly anti-Semitic and anti-Israel, but New York state law forces the professors to accept the union’s so-called “representation.” Their petition received significant amicus support in the form of a dozen amicus briefs urging the Justices to take the case.
The professors, Avraham Goldstein, Michael Goldstein, Frimette Kass-Shraibman, Mitchell Langbert, Jeffrey Lax, and Maria Pagano, are receiving free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and The Fairness Center. The lawsuit challenges aspects of New York State’s “Taylor Law”, which grants union bosses monopoly bargaining power in the public sector. This gives union bosses the power to speak and contract for public workers, including those that want nothing to do with the union. In addition to opposing the union’s extreme ideology, the professors oppose being forced into a “bargaining unit” of instructional staff who share the union’s objectionable beliefs or have employment interests diverging from their own.
The professors’ original petition for writ of certiorari, filed in July, points out that the High Court has, for decades, recognized how public sector monopoly bargaining burdens workers’ First Amendment freedom of association rights. In 1944, the Supreme Court’s decision in Steele v. Louisville & Nashville Railway Co. recognized how rail union bosses were manipulating their powers over the workplace to discriminate against African-American railway workers. The Supreme Court restated its concerns most recently in the 2018 Foundation-won Janus v. AFSCME decision, calling monopoly bargaining “a significant impingement on associational freedoms.”
According to NRWL, the complaint said Prof. Michael Goldstein “experienced anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist attacks from members of PSC, including what he sees as bullying, harassment, destruction of property, calls for him to be fired, organization of student attacks against him, and threats against him and his family.” Goldstein has needed a guard to accompany him on campus, the complaint noted.
Prof. Lax, the complaint explained, already received in a separate case a letter of determination from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) “that CUNY and PSC leaders discriminated against him, retaliated against him, and subjected him to a hostile work environment on the basis of religion.” Prof. Lax “has felt marginalized and ostracized by PSC because the union has made it clear that Jews who support the Jewish homeland, the State of Israel, are not welcome,” said the complaint. As their petition of certiorari notes, these conflicts have significantly increased since October 7, 2023.
National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix noted, “New York’s legal scheme forces these CUNY professors to associate with union officials who insult their identity and create a work environment rife with bullying and harassment. It’s hard to think of a more obvious violation of the First Amendment.”
“It’s high time that the Justices finally acknowledge the First Amendment protects government employees from being forced to accept political ‘representation’ they adamantly oppose.”
Mix further stated, “No public worker should be forced to associate with union officials who denigrate their culture and identity. But unfortunately, this is exactly what New York State’s Taylor Law and many similar laws around the country allow.”
“The Supreme Court has expressed concerns with monopoly bargaining for decades, and it’s high time that the justices finally acknowledge the First Amendment protects government employees from being forced to accept ‘representation’ they adamantly oppose.”
NY law unconstitutionally forces professors under “representation” of anti-Semitic union https://t.co/H9xB1qJxII
— National Right To Work Foundation (@RightToWork) December 22, 2024
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