Anderson Fed'n of Teachers v. Rokita

• Decision Date: 30 June 2021
• Docket Number: No. 1:21-cv-01767-SEB-DML,1:21-cv-01767-SEB-DML
• Citation: 546 F.Supp.3d 733
• Parties: ANDERSON FEDERATION OF TEACHERS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Todd ROKITA, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Indiana

546 F.Supp.3d 733

ANDERSON FEDERATION OF TEACHERS, et al., Plaintiffs,

v.Todd ROKITA, et al., Defendants.

No. 1:21-cv-01767-SEB-DML

United States District Court, S.D. Indiana, Indianapolis Division.

Signed June 30, 2021

Jeffrey A. Macey, Macey Swanson LLP, Indianapolis, IN, for Plaintiffs.

Todd Rokita, Pro Se.

Katie Jenner, Pro Se.

Tammy Meyer, Pro Se.

ORDER GRANTING IN PART PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

SARAH EVANS BARKER, JUDGE

This cause is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction [Dkt. 2], filed on June 15, 2021. In this lawsuit, Plaintiffs Anderson Federation of Teachers, Avon Federation of Teachers, Martinsville Classroom Teachers Association, G. Randall Harrison, a teacher and the President and dues-paying member of the Anderson Federation of Teachers, Suzanne Lebo, a teacher and the President and dues-paying member of the Avon Federation of Teachers, and Shannon Adams, a teacher and the President and a dues-paying member of the Martinsville Classroom Teachers Association, (collectively, "Plaintiffs") are challenging Indiana's Senate Enrolled Act 251 ("SEA 251"), effective July 1, 2021, and codified at Indiana Code § 20-29-5-6(c) – (d), which requires teachers and school corporations to comply with new procedures to authorize the deduction of union dues from teachers’ paychecks, on grounds that it abrogates existing dues authorization agreements in violation of the Contract Clause of the United States Constitution and violates teachers’ First Amendment rights to freedom of association and freedom of speech.

Plaintiffs seek to have Defendant Todd Rokita, in his official capacity as the Attorney General of the State of Indiana ("the State"),¹ enjoined from enforcing SEA 251, pending a decision on the merits of Plaintiffs’ claims in this matter.² Plaintiffs’ motion was fully briefed on June 28, 2021 and the Court heard oral arguments on the motion the following day, on June 29, 2021. Having now considered those arguments, the parties’ evidentiary and other written submissions, and the controlling principles of law, we hereby GRANT Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction as to their Contract Clause and First Amendment free speech claims and DENY the motion as to the First Amendment association claim.

Factual Background

Plaintiffs are teacher Unions that represent school employees in Indiana and individual teachers represented by those teacher Unions. The Unions are parties to collective bargaining agreements ("CBAs") with the school corporations that employ the teachers represented by the Unions. Provisions in these CBAs provide for a system whereby teachers can elect to have Union dues deducted from their paychecks by the school corporations and then transmitted to the teachers’ Unions.

I. Wage Assignments in Indiana

Dues deductions such as those at issue in this litigation are wage assignments generally governed by Indiana Code § 22-2-6-2. That provision authorizes an assignment of wages if the assignment is (1) in writing; (2) signed by the employee personally; (3) by its terms revocable at any time by the employee upon written notice to the employer; (4) agreed to in writing by the employer; and (5) for the purpose of paying any of the eighteen (18) types of costs specified in the statute, including as is relevant here, "dues to become owing by the employee to a labor organization of which the employee is a member." Id. Indiana law provides that "[a]ny direction given by an employee to an employer to make a deduction from the wages to be earned by said employee, after said direction is given, shall constitute an assignment of the wages of said employee." IND. CODE § 22-2-6-1(a). "Employer" in this context "include[s] the state and any political subdivision of the state." Id. § 22-2-6-1(b).

II. Indiana Teachers’ Dues Authorization Agreements Prior to the Passage of SEA 251

In accordance with these statutes, prior to the passage of SEA 251, the Indiana statutory provision governing Collective Bargaining for Teachers and dues deductions for teachers stated as follows:

(a) the school employer shall, on receipt of the written authorization of a school employee:

(1) deduct from the pay of the employee any dues designated or certified by the appropriate officer of a school employee organization that is an exclusive representative of any employees of the school employer; and

(2) remit the dues described in subdivision (1) to the school employee organization.

(b) Deductions under this section must be consistent with:

(1) IC 22-2-6; [general wage assignment statute described above]

(2) IC 22-2-7; [assignment of wages to wage brokers] and

(3) IC 20-28-9-18 [assignment of wages for insurance or to annuity accounts].

IND. CODE § 20-29-5-6(a) – (b). For many years prior to the recent passage of SEA 251, the Plaintiff Unions, the teachers they represent, and the school corporations which employ those teachers, made arrangements for the payment of Union dues through payroll deduction pursuant to this legal framework. The teachers signed agreements authorizing their School Employer to withhold amounts from their paychecks and to remit those amounts to their Unions to pay their dues; the School Corporations agreed to withhold the amounts and remit them to the Unions; and the Unions agreed to accept dues payments through this payroll deduction system.

Prior to the passage of SEA 251, the specific language used on the authorization forms completed by Indiana teachers authorizing the deduction of their dues from their paychecks varied among school districts. The following are examples of the language used in Plaintiffs’ authorization forms:

I hereby request the MSD of Martinsville to withhold dues for the Martinsville Classroom Teachers Association (MCTA) in substantially equal installments from my pay in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement. The total of such deductions shall be the amount specified each year by the treasurer of the MCTA, and the proceeds from such deductions are to be forwarded promptly to that officer of the Association. I also request that this written authorization remain in effect from year to year unless it is revoked in writing by me.

Pls.’ Exh. 1B (Dues Authorization Form for Martinsville Classroom Teachers Association).

My signature below authorizes the Avon Community School Corporation to deduct dues from my payroll checks for the Avon Federation of Teachers in an amount of and according to a schedule agreed upon by the Avon Federation of Teachers. Such dues shall then be forwarded to the treasurer of the Avon Local 3519. My membership and dues will stay in effect until I notify the treasurer in writing otherwise.

Pls.’ Exh. 2B (Dues Authorization Form for Avon Federation of Teachers Local 3519).

This is to authorize the Anderson Community School Corporation to withhold from my pay the established dues to the Anderson Federation of Teachers. It is understood this authorization shall remain in force until notification is made to the school administration and the Anderson Federation of Teachers.

Pls.’ Exh. 3B (Dues Authorization Form for Anderson Federation of Teachers Local 519) (emphasis in original).

The Unions and school corporations agreed to this payroll deduction system in their CBAs. The Anderson agreement, for example, provides in relevant part as follows:

The school employer shall, on written authorization of a school employee, deduct from each pay of such employee, starting with the second pay, and each pay thereafter of such employee any dues designated or certified by the appropriate officer of the Union and shall remit such dues to the Union after each deduction.

Pls.’ Exh. 3A (Anderson Collective Bargaining Agreement).

The Avon agreement provides in relevant part:

[The] Board agrees to deduct Union membership dues from the salaries of those teachers who have authorized such deductions. Such authorization shall be provided by the Union and submitted to the Board on or before the fourth (4^th) pay date of the school year. Such authorization shall continue in effect from year to year unless revoked in writing by the teacher. Additional authorization will be accepted anytime with deductions beginning within four (4) weeks of the submission of the authorization.

***

Deductions shall be made in twenty-one (21) equal installments, beginning with the sixth (6^th) paycheck in the amount to be determined each October. Total remaining Union dues from non-returning teachers will be deducted accordingly from their last payroll check. The proceeds from the deductions shall be forwarded by the Board of the Treasurer of the Union within five (5) school days after the checks from which the deduction were made are delivered to the teachers.

Pls.’ Exh. 2A (Avon Collective Bargaining Agreement).

Finally, the Martinsville agreement provides in relevant part as follows:

Teachers who authorize dues deductions shall have dues deducted each year at the same rate unless the School Corporation receives written notification from the teacher to cease making such deductions not less than two weeks prior to the first pay of the new school year. The Association shall certify the amount of the unified dues to the Corporation on or before August 1 of each school year. The School Corporation shall provide a list of the membership authorizations on file to the Association prior to October 1. The first deduction will be the first pay of the school year for all continuing members ....

Pls.’ Exh. 1A (Martinsville Collective Bargaining Agreement).

III. Expiration of Current CBAs and Withholding Authorizations

Each teacher in Indiana executes an individual contract with the school corporation setting forth the number of days they are required to work and the amount they are to be paid for the work.³ IND. CODE § 20-28-6-2(a). This teacher contract is entered into by and between the school corporation and the teacher on an annual basis until the teacher reaches a certain level of seniority and/or...