For years, public employees have been forced to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment, allowing unions like the Public Employees Federation (PEF) to take their members for granted.
However, because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Janus v. AFSCME (2018), public employees can no longer be required to financially support an unwanted labor union against their will.
The court ruled that the mandatory dues requirement violated workers’ First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association, and that public employees have the right to choose for themselves whether to pay any union dues or fees.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d03abY9l1U8
In 2020, Albany Police Officers used the Janus decision to their benefit when roughly 80 percent of the department’s officers stopped paying dues, withholding over $8,000 a month from their union, Council 82.
The following year, Albany Police Officers successfully voted to replace Council 82 with an independent union they created called the Albany Police Benevolent Association.
That wouldn’t have been possible without the Janus decision which allows public employees to enjoy the benefits of the union without paying monthly dues.
https://www.empirecenter.org/publications/janus-uncuffs-albany-cops/
This year, with the assistance of the Freedom Foundation, Liberty Lake Police Officers also used the Janus decision to their benefit and successfully voted to replace Teamsters Local 690 with an independent union they created called the Liberty Lake Police Guild.
They accomplished this goal after every single officer in the department stopped paying union dues in protest of Teamsters Local 690.
In our fight for better representation and benefits, we’re asking all active New York State Parole Officers, Senior Parole Officers and Parole Revocation Specialists to take back their power and stop paying union dues.
Defunding PEF is the best way for Parole Officers to leave the union and join the powerful New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA).
Please click on the link below to learn more about your First Amendment rights and how you can stop paying PEF dues.
https://www.optouttoday.com/pef
In solidarity,
New York State Parole Officers