Worker wins fight against union over withholding ‘assessments’ from paycheck

A worker has won his fight with a union over its insistence on withholding “assessments” from his paycheck, claiming that the Supreme Court ruling in Janus v. AFSCME applied only to “dues.”

The Liberty Justice Center is the organization that announced the result for plumber Nicolo Giangrasso.

It reported the UA Local 9 in the region has agreed to settle, prompting the legal action in court to be dropped.

Liberty Justice Center had charged that it does not matter whether the union calls money “dues” or “assessments,” it still has no authority to take it under Supreme Court precedent.

“In its landmark 2018 decision Janus v. AFSCME, the U.S. Supreme Court found that public employees have a First Amendment right to decide whether to join or financially support a union. The court also held that unless workers give their ‘affirmative consent’ to waive that right, a union cannot legally withhold any union dues or other fees from their paychecks,” the legal team explained.

At that time, Giangrasso, a New Jersey plumber employed by the Hamilton Township School District, resigned his union membership and requested the union stop deducting dues from his paychecks.

However, the legal team noted, the union simply refused, making the claim the high court impacted only “dues” and not its “assessments.”

A federal lawsuit followed shortly and the Liberty Justice Center explained to the court it doesn’t matter what the union calls the money it takes, it’s not allowed to do that.

It’s because the Supreme Court’s opinion specifically cited ‘any other form of payment.”

The result was the union agreed to settle the fight.

“It should not have taken a lawsuit for the union to honor Mr. Giangrasso’s First Amendment rights,” said Jeffrey Schwab, lawyer at the Liberty Justice Center. “But we are proud to have taken a stand for his constitutional rights and will continue to challenge union policies that violate workers’ rights across the country.”

Details of the settlement were not immediately released.