Wife of Oregon lawmaker sues union, joining national effort

SALEM, Ore. - The wife of an Oregon lawmaker has filed a lawsuit against the state's largest union, joining a national push by an anti-union group to let workers avoid paying fees to unions where they work.

Debora Nearman, wife of Rep. Mike Nearman, a Republican from Independence, filed suit late Wednesday against the state branch of Service Employees International Union, claiming fee-payment requirements violate her First Amendment rights.

"She feels that she should not be forced to pay any money to an organization that campaigned against her husband," said Jill Gibson, an attorney for Nearman.

The National Right To Work Foundation is assisting Nearman, part of a broader effort involving parallel lawsuits in the U.S. Supreme Court and other states to create "right-to-work" policies.

Under federal law, government employees such as teachers and administrative workers can be required to pay partial dues to unions at their workplaces even if they choose not to become members. The partial dues can usually only be used by unions for bargaining and workplace organizing, not political campaigns or other outside activities, said Vanessa Williamson, a researcher at the Brookings Institution.

Nearman is an employee at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Melissa Unger, director of SEIU 503, the group targeted in Nearman's suit, said through a spokesman Thursday afternoon that she couldn't comment on the lawsuit because the group hadn't been served with a copy.

The case comes as the latest in a broader legal battle over right-to-work policies. On one side, Williamson said, workers and anti-union groups have argued against paying dues to unions, which may hold views or support politicians they don't personally agree with.

That's the heart of a U.S. Supreme Court case, Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which Right to Work Foundation lawyers are also working on, said Patrick Semmens, a spokesman for the group.

In that case and others like it the group is pursuing in lower courts, Semmens said, the group has claimed that even bargaining over mundane workplace details like restroom accommodations amounts to lobbying. That makes it a form of political speech that members shouldn't be forced to support, he added.

"Anytime the union is speaking to the government, whether it's lobbying at the state Legislature or bargaining, they're really all lobbying," Semmens said.

Supporting an organization that takes positions contrary to Nearman's religious beliefs, and which fought her husband's election, is a violation of her rights to free speech and association, the organization said in a release.

On the other side, Williamson said, unions have argued that when they negotiate a contract, all the employees in a government agency benefit, and that they should be allowed to charge nonmembers a limited fee to cover the cost of that work.

"There's the argument that you're getting benefits for free," Williamson said.