Some Public Employers Complying with Janus

Some Public Employers Complying with Janus

Some Public Employers Complying with Janus

In September, the Freedom Foundation published a guide we sent out to all human resource departments around the state of Oregon.

The guide seeks to inform local government officials about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Janus ruling and what it means for them as public employers. Most notably, the guide explains why they shouldn’t be deducting dues from any employee who hasn’t signed a union membership card after the decision came down.

Not surprisingly, most agencies are not complying with the unambiguous requirements of the ruling. Rather, they continue to take dues from whoever the union tells them to.

However, some around the state have ceased the practice of dues deduction for those who have not signed new membership cards.

One school district, whose leaders requested to not be named out of fear of union backlash, demanded the union provide them with copies of employees’ membership cards for inspection. When the union refused, the school district ceased deducting dues from the employees’ wages and has vowed that, until they see evidence these teachers have appropriately signed up for union membership, no dues will be deducted.

The school district isn’t alone. There are various other public agencies statewide following the same procedure by not deducting these dues from anybody post-Janus until they see newly signed membership cards.

This comes after Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority in Janus, emphasized that workers paying union dues or agency fees, by definition, are waiving their First Amendment rights not to. And such a waiver cannot simply be presumed.

The Freedom Foundation works to hold government unions and public agencies accountable to the full scope of the Janus decision and will continue to ensure that all agencies in Oregon are compliant with the law.

Chief Executive Officer
ceo@freedomfoundation.com
Aaron Withe is the Chief Executive Officer of the Freedom Foundation. Aaron began his career at the Freedom Foundation in 2015, working in the outreach department. He devised a full-scale outreach campaign that included having a team of door-to-door canvassers contact all union members throughout Oregon and inform them of their rights to leave their union. After various promotions the Freedom Foundation’s Board of Directors appointed Aaron as the CEO in 2021. As an immigrant-turned-U.S. citizen, Aaron recognizes America as the freest and most prosperous country in the world. However, he also recognizes the very real threat posed by the government unions attacking the foundations of the American dream. This is what fuels Aaron as he now leads the Freedom Foundation’s national campaign to free every public employee in America from union bondage. Aaron is the author of the book Freedom is the Foundation: How we are defeating progressive tyranny by taking on the government unions. Aaron has been a featured speaker for the Freedom Foundation at a multitude of events, including the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2019. He was the proud recipient of the Oregon Taxpayer Association’s 2019 Thomas Jefferson Award. He was formerly on the Washington & Oregon Advisory Committees to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. And he is a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI) Leadership Network. Aaron has often shared the Freedom Foundation’s message on TV, including appearances on Fox News, Fox Business, One America News, Newsmax, and The Huckabee Show on TBN. He has been featured on several national and local radio shows, including Sean Hannity and Lars Larson, and in print media outlets across the country, including the Wall Street Journal, the Hill, and the Daily Wire. He is a native of Birmingham, England, and is a graduate and former basketball player at Corban University in Oregon. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife Aubree and their daughter Amelia, as well as with their extended family and friends. He is active of his church and enjoys relaxing at several Pacific North West’s microbreweries. As an immigrant-turned-U.S. citizen, Aaron recognizes America as the freest and most prosperous country in the world. However, he also recognizes the very real threat posed by the government unions attacking the foundations of the American dream. This is what fuels Aaron as he now leads the Freedom Foundation’s national campaign to free every public employee in America from union bondage. Aaron has been a featured speaker for the Freedom Foundation at a multitude of events, including the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2019. He was the proud recipient of the Oregon Taxpayer Association’s 2019 Thomas Jefferson Award. He was formerly on the Washington & Oregon Advisory Committees to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. And he is a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI) Leadership Network. Aaron has often shared the Freedom Foundation’s message on TV, including appearances Fox News, One America News, Newsmax, and The Huckabee Show on TBN. He has been featured on several national and local radio shows including Sean Hannity and Lars Larson and in print media outlets across the country including the Wall Street Journal and Daily Wire. He is a native of Birmingham, England, and is a graduate and former basketball player at Corban University in Oregon. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, staying active in many different sports and at the gym, he is active in his church and enjoys relaxing at several of the Pacific North West’s microbreweries.