Columbus, OH – The Buckeye Institute filed its appeal in Darling v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) with the Ohio Supreme Court, calling on the court to hear the case and tell Ohio’s lower courts that the courts—not the State Employment Relations Board—have jurisdiction in cases where public employees, like The Buckeye Institute’s five clients, had money illegally taken out of their paychecks by their employers and given to a government union. 

“‘Have your day in court’ is a truism that we learn from a young age. But if you were a member of a government union—a union still taking money out of your paycheck—getting your day in court is not that easy,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute and the lead attorney representing the plaintiffs. “This must change, and Darling v. AFSCME presents the Ohio Supreme Court the opportunity to clarify that common pleas courts have jurisdiction to decide private contractual disputes like the ones presented in this case.”

In its appeal, The Buckeye Institute argues that its clients—all former members of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE)—who had money illegally taken from their paychecks even after they quit their union—should be allowed to challenge the validity and enforceability of their government union contract in court. Unfortunately, and mistakenly, the unions and lower courts have told Buckeye’s clients they cannot challenge their contracts in court and that they must go to the State Employment Relations Board (SERB) for relief. However, in Littlejohn v. AFSCME—a nearly identical case—SERB told The Buckeye Institute’s client that she must file her case in court. If the lower courts’ rulings stand, hardworking public employees will have no forum to challenge the legality of their union contracts.

After securing victories for five of its 10 original clients in the case, The Buckeye Institute represents: 

• Chelsea Kolacki of Toledo is an office assistant for the Maumee City School District. She was a member of OAPSE before she resigned on September 24, 2020.
• Kristy Kolacki of Toledo is a secretary for the Maumee City School District. She was a member of OAPSE before she resigned on September 24, 2020.
• Laura Langsdale of Akron is a custodian for the Springfield Local School District. She was a member of OAPSE before she resigned on October 20, 2020.
• Ronnie Legg of Galloway is a driver for the Columbus City School District. He was a member of OAPSE before he resigned on August 20, 2020.
• Stephen Tulga of Columbus is a bus driver for the Upper Arlington City School District. He was a member of OAPSE before he resigned on May 6, 2021.

OAPSE claims that The Buckeye Institute’s clients signed a contract authorizing the government union to keep deducting membership dues from their paychecks even though Buckeye’s clients are no longer union members. 

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