Jibson v. Michigan Educ. Association-NEA

• Decision Date: 27 July 1994
• Docket Number: D,No. 93-1771,ASSOCIATION-NE,93-1771
• Citation: 30 F.3d 723
• Parties: 146 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2969, 93 Ed. Law Rep. 126 William L. JIBSON; Patricia A. Benefiel; Robert F. Croll; Robert E. Friar; Sandra B. Lewis; James E. Lindsey; Harold M. Molter; George L. Stengren; David Stewart; and Andrew J. Warber, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MICHIGAN EDUCATIONefendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 723

30 F.3d 723

146 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2969, 93 Ed. Law Rep. 126

William L. JIBSON; Patricia A. Benefiel; Robert F. Croll;

Robert E. Friar; Sandra B. Lewis; James E. Lindsey;

Harold M. Molter; George L. Stengren; David Stewart; and

Andrew J. Warber, on behalf of themselves and all others

similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MICHIGAN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION-NEA, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 93-1771.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued June 20, 1994.

Decided July 27, 1994.

Andrew J. Vorbrich, Early, Lennon, Peters & Crocker, Kalamazoo, MI, Raymond J. LaJeunesse, Jr. (argued), Milton L. Chappell (briefed), National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Springfield, VA, Sam F. Massie, Jr., Allaben, Massie, Vander, Weyden & Timmer, Grand Rapids, MI, for plaintiffs-appellants.

Bruce R. Lerner (argued), Robert H. Chanin (briefed), Francis R. Sheed, Bredhoff & Kaiser, Washington, DC, Arthur R. Przybylowicz, James J. Chiodini, White, Beekman, Przybylowicz, Schneider & Baird, Okemos, MI, for defendant-appellee.

Before: MARTIN, SUHRHEINRICH, and DAUGHTREY, Circuit Judges.

BOYCE F. MARTIN, Jr., Circuit Judge.

This case involves yet another challenge to a labor arrangement sanctioned by the Michigan Public Employment Relations Act. Under the Act, any public school employee who is not a member of his or her local education association may be required nonetheless to pay a service fee to the local association for its costs of statutory exclusive representation. MICH.COMP.LAWS Sec. 423.211. In Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, 431 U.S. 209, 97 S.Ct. 1782, 52 L.Ed.2d 261 (1977), the Supreme Court found this plan to be constitutionally sound, but recognized both the general principle "that requiring nonunion employees to support their collective-bargaining representative 'has an impact upon their First Amendment interests,' " and the nonmembers' specific "constitutional right to 'prevent the Union's spending a part of their required service fees to contribute to political candidates and to express political views unrelated to its duties as exclusive bargaining representative.' " Chicago Teachers Union, Local No. 1 v. Hudson, 475 U.S. 292, 301-02, 106 S.Ct. 1066, 1073, 89 L.Ed.2d 232 (1986) (explaining and citing Abood, 431 U.S. at 222, 234, 97 S.Ct. at 1793, 1799). Subsequently, the Supreme Court considered in Hudson the adequacy of a procedure designed to protect the distinction drawn, in Abood, between those expenditures a union could and could not constitutionally charge to nonmembers. Hudson, 475 U.S. at 302, 106 S.Ct. at 1073. There, the Court concluded, id. at 310, 106 S.Ct. at 1077,

that the constitutional requirements for the Union's collection of agency fees include an adequate explanation of the basis for the fee, a reasonably prompt opportunity to challenge the amount of the fee before an impartial decisionmaker, and an escrow for the amounts reasonably in dispute while such challenges are pending.

It is the first of these requirements--that the organization serving as the exclusive bargaining representative provide an adequate explanation of the basis for the fee--that is at issue in the instant case.

Michigan Education Association, referred to by the parties as "MEA," is an organization that represents approximately 127,000 Michigan public school employees for the purpose of negotiating collective bargaining agreements through more than 900 affiliated local education associations. In this action, ten Michigan public school employees brought suit against MEA pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 on behalf of themselves and all other nonmembers required to pay a service fee to the organization. Plaintiffs allege that the notice MEA provided to nonmembers regarding the calculation of the amount of their service fees was constitutionally inadequate under the standard established in Hudson and its progeny, because it did not provide an adequate explanation of the basis for the fee amount. ¹ Plaintiffs now appeal the district court's grant of MEA's motion to dismiss and/or for summary judgment, denial of their motion for summary judgment, and denial of their motion to alter or amend judgment and for reconsideration of judgment. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I

A

Plaintiffs are employees of various public school districts, colleges, and universities in Michigan. For each of these public employers, a local education association that is affiliated with MEA and the National Education Association, referred to by the parties as "NEA," has been recognized as the exclusive bargaining representative for purposes of collective bargaining. Although plaintiffs are members of the bargaining units represented by these local associations, they chose not to join their respective local associations during the 1988-89 through 1991-92 school years.

In their capacity as exclusive bargaining representatives, the local associations entered into collective bargaining agreements with their respective public employers for the school years in question. As permitted by Michigan law, each of these collective bargaining agreements contained a provision requiring employees within the bargaining unit who were not members of the exclusive representative to pay a fee in lieu of dues for services rendered by the exclusive representative and its affiliated organizations. MICH.COMP.LAWS Secs. 423.210(1)(c) and (2).

Pursuant to these provisions, the local associations sought to collect a service fee from each of the nonmember employees in their bargaining units during the 1988-89 school year and in each subsequent school year. To collect these fees, the local associations followed a procedure--known as MEA's Policy and Procedures Regarding Objections to Political-Ideological Expenditures--that was adopted by MEA in January 1989. The procedure had been expressly approved, and found to satisfy all constitutional requirements, by the district court. See Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Ass'n-MEA-NEA, 707 F.Supp. 1473 (W.D.Mich.1988), further proceedings, 707 F.Supp. 1482 (W.D.Mich.1988), and 707 F.Supp. 1490 (W.D.Mich.1989) ("Lehnert I "), aff'd, 893 F.2d 111 (6th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 496 U.S. 905, 110 S.Ct. 2586, 110 L.Ed.2d 267 (1990). ²

The MEA procedure--which is reprinted as an appendix to the district court's opinion in Lehnert I, 707 F.Supp. at 1496-98--sets forth a comprehensive system for the collection of service fees from nonmember employees who are represented by local associations affiliated with MEA. The first part of that procedure, and the aspect that is directly relevant to this appeal, is the notice that is sent each school year to nonmember employees. Specifically, after MEA calculates the amount of the reduced service fee that it believes objecting nonmember employees are legally required to pay, MEA provides all nonmember employees with a notice explaining the basis for that service fee calculation. As expressly stated in the MEA procedure, that notice is designed to include "adequate information identifying the NEA's, MEA's and local associations' total expenditures [that is] sufficient to enable [all nonmembers] to assess the propriety of the service fee calculation." The MEA procedure also specifically states what information must be included in the notice that is sent to all nonmember employees:

(1) A list of expenditures made by the NEA and MEA, by major category, during the [relevant] fiscal year verified by an independent auditor and an identification of whether the major category of expense, or a particular portion thereof, is chargeable to objectors;

(2) In those instances where a local association service fee is collected, a list of the local association's major categories of expenditures verified by an independent auditor and an identification of whether the major category of expense, or a particular portion thereof, is chargeable to objectors shall be provided;

(3) The amount of the reduced agency fee;

(4) The method used to calculate the reduced agency fees; and

(5) A copy of this procedure.

After receiving the information described above, each nonmember employee has thirty days within which to file a written objection to the amount of the service fee. No nonmember is required to pay any portion of the fee until the thirty-day period has expired. An objection may be stated in general terms, and a nonmember need not single out any particular reason for his or her objection.

A nonmember who objects to the amount of the service fee may take either of two positions. He or she may object to the amount of the full service fee but accept MEA's calculation of the reduced fee, or object to both the full fee and MEA's reduced service fee calculation. An objector who chooses the first option is charged the reduced fee, and that amount is forwarded to MEA. An objector who chooses the second option, and disputes MEA's reduced fee as well, is in the first instance charged the reduced service fee as calculated by MEA, but the entire amount of his or her reduced fee is placed in an interest-bearing escrow account until an impartial decisionmaker chosen by the American Arbitration Association issues a decision on the exact proportion of the fee that is lawfully chargeable to objecting nonmember employees. Each nonmember is provided with a simple form on which to indicate his or her objection, and a business reply envelope in which to return the form to MEA.

In light of the decision in Lehnert I, plaintiffs in this case do not mount a facial challenge to the constitutional validity of the notice provisions called for by the MEA procedure. Instead, they contest the implementation of those notice provisions by MEA, and they object in particular to the adequacy of the information that was actually included in the notices MEA sent to nonmember employees between 1989 and 1992. Because the contents of these notices is the central issue in this appeal, the following...