Columbus, OH – The Buckeye Institute filed another lawsuit against the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) for its refusal to end its illegal wage theft. Swanner v. OPASE was filed in Lorain County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Shannon Swanner of Norwalk, Ohio.

“For more than a year and a half, the Ohio Association of Public School Employees has illegally taken money out of Mrs. Swanner’s paycheck, claiming that even though she isn’t a member of the union, she nonetheless must continue to pay dues,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute and an attorney representing Mrs. Swanner. “Apparently, death and taxes aren’t the only things that are certain. According to OAPSE, so are union dues.”

For more than a decade, Shannon Swanner of Norwalk, Ohio, has served as a licensed nurse with the Lorain County Board of Developmental Disabilities, serving more than 3,000 people with disabilities in Lorain County, helping them to lead better, more independent lives. On June 14, 2023, Mrs. Swanner informed the government union—the Ohio Association of Public School Employees/American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 771—that she was quitting effectively immediately and that the union should stop taking money out of her paycheck. While the government union acknowledged Mrs. Swanner was no longer a member of the union on June 29, 2023—devoting more than 100 words outlining why she should “carry [her] share of the load,” it allotted only 10 words on ending paycheck deductions, writing, “The attempted cancellation of your dues deduction is untimely.” To Mrs. Swanner’s employer, they wrote, “membership dues deduction are to continue uninterrupted,” no explanation, no reason given.

Although it was easy to understand what “untimely” meant, the government union refused to inform Mrs. Swanner what a timely request was or why she had to jump through so many hidden hoops to end this now-illegal wage theft. Mrs. Swanner followed up with multiple requests throughout 2023 and 2024, only to be ignored, brushed aside, and disrespected. Despite numerous attempts to learn how to end the paycheck deductions, neither Mrs. Swanner’s employer nor the government union could or would tell her when the union opt-out window was, nor would they provide her with a satisfactory resolution to end the union’s illegal wage theft. 

In Swaner v. OAPSE, The Buckeye Institute is asking the court to order the government union to:

• Stop taking money out of Mrs. Swanner’s paycheck;
• Refund money taken from her after she quit the government union; 
• Issue an injunction to prevent further union membership dues deductions from her paycheck; 
• Award Mrs. Swanner’s costs and attorneys’ fees; and
• Declare that Ohio courts have jurisdiction in union contract dispute cases.

Stay up-to-date on Swanner v. OAPSE at BuckeyeInstitute.org/SwanervOAPSE.

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