Babb v. Cal. Teachers Ass'n
Babb v. Cal. Teachers Ass'n
Opinion of the Court
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS (Doc. 63)
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS (Doc. 163)
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS (Doc. 27)
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO DISMISS (Docs. 59 & 61)
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS (Doc. 43)
JOSEPHINE L. STATON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
The above captioned cases all involve the Supreme Court's decision in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 , --- U.S. ----,
• Babb v. California Teachers Ass'n , No. 8:18-cv-00994-JLS-DFM : Motion to Dismiss and for Judgment on the Pleadings, and in the Alternative for Summary Judgment ( Babb Mem., Doc. 63) filed by the California Teachers Association, National Education Association, and United Teachers of Los Angeles;2
• Wilford v. National Education Ass'n , No. 8:18-cv-1169-JLS-DFM : Motion to Dismiss and for Judgment on the Pleadings, and in the Alternative for Summary Judgment (Wilford Mem., Doc. 163) filed by American Federation of Teachers, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Certificated Hourly Instructors, Long Beach City College Chapter, Coast Federation of Educators, Local 1911, Community College Association, Exeter Teachers Association, Mt. San Antonio College Faculty Association, Inc., National Education Association, Orange Unified Education Association, Saddleback Valley Educators Association, Sanger Unified Teachers Association, Savanna District Teachers Association, and South Orange County Community College District Faculty Association;3
*867• Matthews v. United Teachers Los Angeles , No. 2:18-cv-06793-JLS-DFM : Motion to Dismiss and for Judgment on the Pleadings, and in the Alternative for Summary Judgment (Matthews Mem., Doc. 27) filed by California Teachers Association, National Education Association, San Diego Education Association, and United Teachers Los Angeles;4
• Martin v. California Teachers Ass'n , No. 2:18-cv-08999-JLS-DFM : Motion to Dismiss (Martin State Mem., Doc. 59) filed by Eric Banks, Xavier Becerra, Arthur A. Krantz, Erich Shiners, and Priscilla Winslow (the "State Defendants")5 ; Motion to Dismiss (Martin Union Mem., Doc. 61) filed by California Teachers Association, National Education Association, and Riverside City Teachers Association;6 and
• Few v. United Teachers Los Angeles , No. 2:18-cv-09531-JLS-DFM : Motion to Dismiss Count II (Few Mem., Doc. 43) filed by United Teachers Los Angeles.7
I. BACKGROUND
On June 27, 2018, the Supreme Court decided Janus and overruled Abood v. Detroit Board of Education ,
The Plaintiffs in Babb are current or former public-school teachers who refused to join teachers' unions because they disapproved of their political advocacy and collective-bargaining activities. (Babb Third Amended Complaint ¶¶ 14-20, Doc. 90.) Prior to Janus , the Plaintiffs were required to pay agency fees to the unions as a condition of their employment. (Id. ) See
Wilford is, for the purposes of the pending motions, identical to Babb. The Wilford Plaintiffs are also non-union teachers who allege that the compulsory collection of agency fees is unconstitutional after Janus. (Wilford First Amended Complaint ¶¶ 1-7, 25-29, Doc. 155.) They also bring federal claims for violation of the First Amendment pursuant to § 1983 (id. ¶¶ 41-47 *868), and state law claims for conversion (id. ¶¶ 48-51) and restitution (id. ¶¶ 52-57). Further, as in Babb , the Wilford Plaintiffs seek an order enjoining the future collection of agency fees (id. Demand for Relief ¶ C) and requiring the Union Defendants to repay all agency fees received prior to Janus (id. ¶ D). The Union Defendants move to dismiss all claims. (See Wilford Mem. at 1.)
Matthews is very similar to Wilford and Babb , as the Matthews Plaintiffs are non-union teachers who allege that compulsory collection of agency fees is unconstitutional after Janus. (Matthews Complaint ¶¶ 16, 18-19, Doc. 1-1.) However, the Matthews Plaintiffs bring no federal claims for relief, but rather claims for unfair competition under California's Unfair Competition Law ("the UCL") (id. ¶¶ 35-45); conversion (id. ¶¶ 46- 51); trespass to chattels (id. ¶¶ 52-57); unjust enrichment (id. ¶¶ 58-61); and money had and received (id. ¶¶ 62-65). As with Babb and Wilford , the Matthews Plaintiffs seek to enjoin the future collection of agency fees (id. Prayer for Relief ¶ 6) and to order the Union Defendants to repay all agency fees received prior to Janus (id. ¶ 2). The Union Defendants move to dismiss all claims. (See Matthews Mem. at 1.)
Martin is different from Matthews , Wilford , and Babb in significant respects. Plaintiffs are public-school teachers who were union members prior to Janus but resigned thereafter. (See Martin First Amended Complaint at 2-3, Doc. 47.) The Martin Plaintiffs' first claim is, similar to Babb , Wilford , and Matthews , that compulsory collection of agency fees violates the First Amendment. (Id. ¶¶ 15-26.) Some Plaintiffs allege that they would not have joined the union or would have resigned earlier if not for the agency fee requirement, while others claim that "they were led to believe that union membership was a mandatory condition of their employment" and "were never informed of their constitutional right to quit the union." (Id. ¶¶ 17-19.) As part of first claim, Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent the future collection of agency fees (id. ¶ 84) as well as "refunds equal to the amount of the [agency fees] that [the Union Defendants] extracted from [Plaintiffs] regardless of whether they stayed in the union or resigned" (id. ¶ 24). Plaintiffs' second claim is that their First Amendment rights were violated because, while they were union members, they had to opt out of making a $ 20 annual payment to the Union Defendants if they did not wish to make the payment. (Id. ¶¶ 27-42.) Plaintiffs seek injunctive relief to prevent the Union Defendants from continuing to charge the $ 20, as well as retrospective relief for the funds paid while they were members. (Id. ¶¶ 39-42.) With their third claim, Plaintiffs challenge the federal and state constitutionality of California Government Code § 3558, which provides for public school employers to share with unions that represent their employees the contact information of bargaining unit employees whom the unions represent, unless the employee has requested that his or her contact information not be shared. (Id. ¶¶ 43-56.) The fourth claim is asserted only by Plaintiff Martin and alleges that California Education Code § 45060 violates the First Amendment because it provides that a union member must send a letter to the union, rather than to the employer, if the union member wishes to terminate membership dues deductions. (Id. ¶¶ 57-64.) Plaintiffs' fifth claim alleges that collective bargaining through an exclusive representative violates the First Amendment. (Id. ¶¶ 65-74.) Finally, the sixth claim is asserted only by Plaintiff Martin and alleges that the collective bargaining agreements between California school districts and the Union Defendants *869violate federal antitrust laws. (Id. ¶¶ 75-81, 89.)
The Union Defendants move to dismiss all of the Martin Plaintiffs' claims except the portion of the second claim that seeks retrospective monetary relief. (Martin Union Mem. at 1.) Plaintiffs have consented to dismissal of their fifth claim, as well as to dismissal of the prospective portions of their first and second claim. (Martin Union Opp. at 4, 23, 35.) Further, the State Defendants separately move to dismiss claims one and four. (Martin State Mem. at 1.)
Finally, the Plaintiff in Few is a public-school teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. (Few First Amended Complaint ¶ 14, Doc. 38.) Few brings two claims for relief, and United Teachers of Los Angeles seeks to dismiss only his second claim, which alleges that collective bargaining through an exclusive representative violates the First Amendment. (See
On February 13, 2019, the Court granted the California Attorney General's request to intervene in Wilford , Babb , and Matthews to defend the constitutionality of California Government Code § 1159. (Intervention Order in Babb , Doc. 72.) While the constitutionality of § 1159 is also relevant to Martin , the Attorney General was already a party to Martin , as noted above. Pursuant to the Court's Order, the Attorney General filed opening briefs in Wilford , Babb , Matthews , and Martin , the Plaintiffs in each case filed a response, and the Attorney General and Union Defendants filed replies. (See
II. LEGAL STANDARD
In deciding a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), courts must accept as true all "well-pleaded factual allegations" in a complaint. Ashcroft v. Iqbal ,
III. DISCUSSION
First, as is relevant to Wilford , Babb , Matthews , and Martin , the Union Defendants argue that the Plaintiffs' claims for prospective relief from the compulsory collection of agency fees are moot because Defendants are fully complying with Janus and have no intention of doing otherwise. (See Babb Mem. at 3.)
Second, as is relevant to Wilford , Babb , and Martin , the Union Defendants argue that they are entitled to a good-faith defense to Plaintiffs' § 1983 claims for a refund of agency fees because the Union Defendants "received the fees in compliance with California statutes and then-controlling and directly on-point United States Supreme Court precedent that expressly authorized [agency] fees." (See Wilford Mem. at 1.)
Third, as is relevant only to Martin , the Union Defendants argue that the membership dues the Martin Plaintiffs paid while union members were voluntarily paid and thus not compelled pursuant to Janus. (Martin Union Mem. at 8.)
Fourth, as is relevant to Wilford , Babb , Matthews , and Martin the Union Defendants argue that the Plaintiffs' state law claims are preempted by the Educational Employment Relations Act ("EERA") and California Government Code § 1159. (See Wilford Mem. 11, 13.)
Fifth, as is relevant only to Martin , the Union Defendants argue that Government Code § 3558, which requires school districts to disclose all of their employees' contact information to the Union Defendants, does not violate the First Amendment. (Martin Union Mem. at 22.)
Sixth, as is relevant only to Martin , the Union and State Defendants argue that Martin does not have standing to challenge Education Code § 45060, which requires employees to direct their resignation requests to the union, rather than their employers, because his resignation has already been processed. (Martin Union Mem. at 30; Martin State Mem. at 7.)
Seventh, as is relevant only to Martin , the Union Defendants argue that Martin's antitrust claim must be dismissed because, for multiple reasons, the "purportedly anticompetitive conduct here falls entirely outside the scope of federal antitrust law." (Martin Union Reply at 13.)
Finally, as is relevant only to Few ,
A. Mootness of Claims for Prospective Relief (Babb, Wilford, Martin , and Matthews )
This Court has twice held that claims for prospective relief to prevent the collection of agency fees post- Janus are moot. See Yohn v. California Teachers Ass'n , Case No. SACV 17-202-JLS-DFM,
Accordingly, the Union Defendants' Motions to Dismiss the Plaintiffs' claims for prospective relief are GRANTED.
B. Section 1983 Good-Faith Defense (Babb , Wilford , and Martin )
"The threshold question of whether the good faith defense is available to private parties in § 1983 actions has been answered affirmatively by the Ninth Circuit." Cook v. Brown , 364 F.Supp.3d at 1190. In Clement v. City of Glendale ,
In Clement , the Ninth Circuit held that "the facts of this case justify allowing [the towing company] to assert such a good faith defense." Clement ,
On indistinguishable facts, every district court to consider whether unions that collected agency fees prior to Janus have a good-faith defense to § 1983 liability have answered in the affirmative. See, e.g. , Danielson v. AFSCME Council 28 ,
The Union Defendants argue that they collected agency fees from Plaintiffs "at a time when California [statutes] and controlling U.S. precedent expressly allowed the collection of such fees." (See Babb Mem. at 9.) Indeed, this Court has acknowledged that "prior to Janus , [the Unions] were merely following the 40-year-precedent of Abood. " Yohn ,
1. Common Law Tort Analogy
Plaintiffs argue that Wyatt "compels courts to look to the most analogous common-law tort, and it allows courts to recognize a defense only if that tort would have conferred similar immunities when section 1983 was enacted." ( Babb Opp. at 3-4.) Plaintiffs claim that "[t]he common-law tort most analogous to the union's unconstitutional confiscation of wages is conversion, and conversion is a strict-liability tort that is unconcerned with whether the defendant acted in good faith." (Id. at 4.) Plaintiffs' argument fails for a number of reasons.
First, as the Union Defendants note, the portion of Wyatt from which Plaintiffs derive their "rule" dealt with immunity from § 1983 liability, not the good-faith defense. (See Babb Reply at 4.) See Wyatt ,
Second, "Plaintiffs' construction of the good faith defense lacks precedent in the Ninth Circuit." Danielson ,
Third, even assuming "the 'common law analogue' requirement from Wyatt does apply, conversion is not the most closely analogous common law claim." Danielson ,
2. Application of Good-Faith Defense to Entities
Plaintiffs next argue that the good-faith defense applies only to individuals, not entities such as the Union Defendants. (See Babb Opp. at 9.) Plaintiffs again conflate qualified immunity with the good-faith defense and argue that because qualified immunity applies only to individual officials, not government entities, the Union Defendants cannot avail themselves of the good-faith defense. (Id. at 9-10.) However, the controlling case law in this Circuit - Clement - allowed a private towing company to assert the good-faith defense. See
3. Subjective Belief
Plaintiffs next argue that, if the good-faith defense applies, the Union Defendants *874have the burden to show their subjective state of mind, and Plaintiffs should be given the opportunity for discovery on this issue. ( Babb Opp. at 14.) Further, Plaintiffs argue that the Union Defendants cannot rely on Abood to establish their belief that agency-fee collection was lawful because the Supreme Court issued "warnings" that collecting agency fees was "constitutionally dubious." (Id. at 16.) See also Janus ,
Although the Supreme Court may have hinted in dicta that it would eventually overrule Abood , "reading the tea leaves of Supreme Court dicta has never been a precondition to good faith reliance on governing law." Cook , 364 F.Supp.3d at 1192. For the 40 years prior to Janus , agency fee collection was constitutional pursuant to Abood. Thus, "[a]ny subjective belief [the Union Defendants] could have had that [ Abood ] was wrongly decided and should be overturned would have amounted to telepathy." Danielson ,
Thus, the Court concludes that the Union Defendants need not produce evidence of their subjective belief that agency fee collection was constitutional.
4. Compliance with Abood
Next, Plaintiffs argue that the Union Defendants must prove that they complied with Abood in order to assert a good-faith defense and that Plaintiffs are entitled to take discovery on this issue. ( Babb Opp. at 20.) The Union Defendants argue that Plaintiffs have not alleged that they failed to comply with Abood and, regardless, a claim "that [the Union Defendants] received fees not permitted by Abood would be a different claim on behalf of a different class." ( Babb Reply at 12.)
The Court agrees with the other district courts that have found this argument unavailing. See Crockett ,
In short, Plaintiffs' lawsuits are not about whether the Union Defendants complied with Abood. Thus, "[t]heir argument that discovery is needed on a different claim for different relief on a different class before the court can apply the good-faith defense simply does not track." Crockett ,
5. Application to Equitable Claims
Plaintiffs also argue that the good-faith defense does not apply to their equitable claims for relief. ( Babb Opp. at 22.) Plaintiffs again rely on cases involving qualified immunity, not the good-faith defense, for this argument. (Id. ) Even assuming the rule from qualified immunity cases applies to the good-faith defense, "[a] plaintiff may not circumvent qualified immunity or the good faith defense simply by labeling a claim for legal damages as one for equitable restitution." Carey , 364 F.Supp.3d at 1232 (citing Lenea v. Lane ,
The Court agrees with Crockett and Carey , both of which concluded that Plaintiffs' demand that the Union Defendants "refund" their agency fee payments sounds in law, not equity. The Plaintiffs' agency fees "paid for [the] ongoing costs of representation" and "[t]here is no segregated fund to which Plaintiffs' payments can now be traced, and therefore any relief would be paid from the Union Defendants' general assets." Crockett ,
6. Return of Unconstitutionally Seized Property
Finally, Plaintiffs argue that the monetary relief they seek is qualitatively different from what they term "collateral damages" and more akin to the return of unconstitutionally seized property. As such, Plaintiffs argue that a good faith defense is unavailable, and that whenever property is unconstitutionally taken, even if in good-faith reliance on a long-standing decision of the United States Supreme Court, it must be returned. (See Martin Opp. at 1.) Although mentioned only briefly in their Opposition (id. ), at oral argument, Plaintiffs relied on Harper v. Virginia Department of Taxation ,
The question here - one not addressed by Harper -is whether Union Defendants are precluded from asserting a good faith defense in this context, where Plaintiffs made payments for agency fees later determined to be unconstitutional. For the most part, the cases Plaintiffs cite have *876nothing to say about a good faith defense to a § 1983 claim. More significantly, the cases cited involve the return of discrete and identifiable property, not a refund of fees paid. See, e.g. , Wyatt v. Cole ,
In short, the cases before the Court present a fundamentally different issue than those cited by the Plaintiffs. The Union Defendants did not merely rely on a presumptively valid state statute; they relied on the 40-year-precedent of Abood. The Court agrees with the Honorable Judge Chhabria who noted, "there is a strong argument that when the highest judicial authority has previously deemed conduct constitutional, reversal of course by that judicial authority should never, as a categorical matter, result in retrospective monetary relief based on that conduct." Hough ,
Accordingly, the Court rejects all of Plaintiffs' arguments against application of the good-faith defense. The Court agrees with every other district court to have decided this question and concludes that "[t]he good faith defense should apply here as a matter of law." Danielson ,
C. Voluntariness of Membership Dues (Martin )
As noted above, the Martin Plaintiffs were dues-paying members of their respective unions prior to Janus. They seek recovery of an amount equal to the agency fees that non-members were required to pay based on the theory that they "chose to join the union and pay the difference between full membership dues and [agency fees] that they would have otherwise paid." (Martin Union Opp. at 5.) Essentially, though the Martin Plaintiffs did not actually pay agency fees, they argue that such fees were subsumed within their membership dues. (Id. ) Thus, "they had no choice in whether to pay the mandatory portion of the dues that was imposed on every member of their bargaining unit." (Id. )
First, because the Court concludes that the Union Defendants have a good-faith defense to retroactive monetary relief based on Janus , the Martin Plaintiffs' claim fails as a matter of law. Further, the Court agrees with Crockett , which held that an indistinguishable claim failed. See *877
D. State Law Claims for Refund of Agency Fees (Wilford, Babb, Matthews , and Martin )
1. EERA Preemption
First, the Union Defendants argue that Plaintiffs' state law claims for relief are preempted by the Educational Employment Relations Act ("EERA"), which "completely displaced any common law claims related to the collection of [agency fees]." (Wilford Mem. at 11-13.)
The EERA expressly authorizes the collection of agency fees.
In Crockett , the court found that the plaintiffs' state law claims (indistinguishable from those asserted here) failed as a matter of law "because there can be no common law liability for conduct authorized by state statute."
Plaintiffs also argue unpersuasively that EERA does not encompass their state law claims. (See Wilford Opp. at 12.) Plaintiffs argue that their state law claims require the Court to determine "the proper ownership of the money the Unions received from the Plaintiffs," whereas "PERB would consider whether the collection of fees constituted an unfair practice, which is wholly unrelated to ownership." (Id. at 13.) However, Link rejected this *878precise argument and concluded that the claims were preempted because "the substance of conduct complained of may also constitute unfair practices which arguably could be resolved by a PERB ruling." Link ,
Accordingly, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs' common law tort claims are preempted by the EERA.
2. Government Code § 1159
Furthermore, even assuming that Plaintiffs' claims are not preempted by the EERA, the Court concludes that Government Code § 1159 is an independent and adequate grounds upon which to dismiss Plaintiffs' state law claims.
Enacted on September 14, 2018, and effective immediately, California Government Code § 1159 provides:
(a) The Controller, a public employer, an employee organization, or any of their employees or agents, shall not be liable for, and shall have a complete defense to, any claims or actions under the law of this state for requiring, deducting, receiving, or retaining agency or fair share fees from public employees, and current or former public employees shall not have standing to pursue these claims or actions, if the fees were permitted at the time under the laws of this state then in force and paid, through payroll deduction or otherwise, prior to June 27, 2018.
(b) This section shall apply to claims and actions pending on its effective date, as well as to claims and actions filed on or after that date.
(c) The enactment of this section shall not be interpreted to create the inference that any relief made unavailable by this section would otherwise be available.
The purpose of § 1159 is explicit: "to provide certainty to public employers and employee organizations that relied on state law, and to avoid disruption of public employee labor relations, after the Supreme Court's decision in [ Janus ]."
Because § 1159 clearly precludes their state law claims for relief, Plaintiffs argue primarily that it is unconstitutional in that its retroactive application violates their due process rights. (See Wilford Opp. at 18.) Plaintiffs also briefly argue that § 1159 effectuates an unlawful taking; violates the California Constitution's single-subject rule; and violates the "separation of powers" doctrine. (See Plaintiffs' Opp. to AG at 14-17.) The Court addresses each issue below.
i. Due Process
In both federal and California due process analysis, the threshold question in determining retroactive application is whether the legislation changed or clarified the law. See McClung v. Emp't Dev. Dept. ,
Here, the California legislature was explicit that § 1159 "clarifies existing state law rather than changes it," because "[p]ublic employees who paid agency or fair share fees as a condition of public employment in accordance with state law and Supreme Court precedent prior to [ Janus ], had no legitimate expectation of receiving that money under any available cause of action." § 1159(e)(1). As the Union Defendants note, at the time agency fees were collected, the Unions could not be held liable under any state law theory for collection of such fees, and § 1159 merely reinforces this point. (Wilford Reply at 12.) "A clarified law is simply a statement of what the law has always been." In re Marriage of Walker ,
Thus, the Court concludes that § 1159 merely clarifies rather than changes the law. However, even assuming that § 1159 changes the law, Plaintiffs' procedural and substantive due process arguments fail under California and federal law, as discussed below.
a. State and Federal Procedural Due Process
Under both the federal and state constitutions, when a law "creates a *880substantive rule of law granting immunity to certain parties against certain types of claims ... 'the legislative determination provides all the process that is due.' " Ileto v. Glock, Inc. ,
However, Logan and the California cases upon which Plaintiffs rely involved changing the procedures through which a plaintiff could pursue his or her claims, not creating a substantive rule of law granting immunity to certain parties against certain types of claims, as is the case here. For example, Logan examined whether a change in a state administrative agency's procedures comported with due process. As Ileto noted, Logan "explicitly limited its holding to 'a procedural limitation on the claimant's ability to assert his rights, not a substantive element of the [underlying] claim.' " Ileto ,
b. State Substantive Due Process
Plaintiffs' state substantive due process argument also fails. Under the California constitution, the legislature "can provide for retroactive application of a statute if it has a reasonable basis for doing so." L.A. Cty. v. Superior Court ,
c. Federal Substantive Due Process
Finally, Plaintiffs' federal substantive due process argument fails. "Where, as here, Congress has expressed its clear intent that the legislation be retroactive, 'the constitutional impediments to retroactive civil legislation are now modest.' " Ileto ,
ii. Other Constitutional Challenges
Plaintiffs' Fifth Amendment Takings Clause argument is foreclosed by Ileto. As noted above, because Plaintiffs have not obtained a final unreviewable judgment, their rights in their causes of action have not vested and "[t]he Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause prevents the Legislature (and other government actors) from depriving private persons of vested property rights." See Ileto ,
Plaintiffs also argue that Senate Bill 846, which added § 1159 to the Government Code, violates the single subject rule of the California Constitution, which provides that "[a] statute shall embrace but one subject, which shall be expressed in its title." Cal. Const., art. IV, § 9. " '[A]n initiative measure does not violate the single-subject requirement if, despite its varied collateral effects, all of its parts are 'reasonably germane' to each other,' and to the general purpose or object of the initiative." Brosnahan v. Brown ,
Finally, Plaintiffs argue that § 1159 "violates the separation-of-powers doctrine." (Plaintiffs' Opp. to AG at 17.) Plaintiffs argue that § 1159 "effectively denies Plaintiffs a judicial forum to assert their state-law claims," and "[f]or the reasons stated in In re National Sec. Agency Telecomm. Records Litig. ,
Accordingly, the Court concludes that § 1159 is constitutional and bars all of Plaintiffs' state law causes of action. Thus, the Court GRANTS the Motions to Dismiss and DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE Plaintiffs' state law causes of action.
E. Constitutionality of California Government Code § 3558 (Martin )
The Martin Plaintiffs argue that California Government Code § 3558 violates the First Amendment or alternatively that it violates state tort law and their state and federal constitutional rights to privacy. Section 3558 provides that public school districts must provide unions that serve as exclusive representatives of bargaining units with:
the name, job title, department, work location, work, home, and personal cellular telephone numbers, personal email addresses on file with the employer, and home address of any newly hired employee within 30 days of the date of hire or by the first pay period of the month following hire, and ... with a list of that information for all employees in the bargaining unit at least every 120 days unless more frequent or more detailed lists are required by an agreement with [the union].
As the Union Defendants explain, § 3558 codifies the California Supreme Court's decision in County of Los Angeles v. L.A. County Employee Relations Committee ,
The Union Defendants argue that § 3558 does not violate the First Amendment. (Id. at 25.)
The Union Defendants argue that § 3558 "does not infringe on Plaintiffs' First Amendment rights-and is not subject to exacting scrutiny-because the content-neutral contact information that is disclosed under the statute (unless Plaintiffs opt out) reveals nothing about their associations and beliefs." (Martin Union Mem. at 25.) Indeed, as the Union Defendants note and Plaintiffs impliedly concede (see Martin Union Opp. at 26-27), every compelled-disclosure case in which the Supreme Court applied exacting scrutiny involved disclosure of information that linked individuals to a cause, an association, or political activity, or identified the individuals' political beliefs. For example, in NAACP v. Alabama ,
However, even assuming that exacting scrutiny applies, the Court concludes that § 3558 survives such scrutiny. Section 3558 serves a compelling government interest. As the California Supreme Court noted in County of L.A. , the Union Defendants have an obligation to communicate with members and non-members pursuant to their duty of representation, so the Union Defendants "must have the means of communicating with all employees." County of L.A. ,
Further, the Court concludes that this interest cannot be achieved through means significantly less restrictive of associational freedoms. The Union Defendants must be able to communicate directly with all employees, and access to employee contact information is "fundamental to the entire expanse of a union's relationship with the employees," permitting the union to "perform its broad range of statutory duties in a truly representative fashion and in harmony with the employees' desires and interests." NLRB v. CJC Holdings, Inc. ,
Accordingly, the Court concludes that § 3558 does not violate the Martin Plaintiffs' First Amendment rights. The Martin Plaintiffs admit that their "privacy-tort claims cannot survive unless this Court concludes that section 3558 violates the federal Constitution." (Martin Union *885Opp. at 30.) Furthermore, Plaintiffs' claim for violation of California's right to privacy also fails because § 3558 merely codifies the California Supreme Court's ruling in County of L.A. Finally, Plaintiffs' claim for violation of federal privacy rights fails because "the scope and application of the [California] state constitutional right of privacy is broader and more protective of privacy than the federal constitutional right of privacy as interpreted by the federal courts." Am. Acad. of Pediatrics v. Lungren ,
F. Constitutionality of California Education Code § 45060 (Martin )
The Union Defendants argue that Plaintiff Martin lacks standing to challenge California Education Code § 45060 and, even if he did not, § 45060 does not violate his First Amendment rights. (Martin Union Mem. at 30-31.)
Education Code § 45060 provides, in relevant part:
Employee requests to cancel or change authorizations for payroll deductions for employee organizations shall be directed to the employee organization rather than to the governing board. The employee organization shall be responsible for processing these requests.
Martin alleges that § 45060 violates his First Amendment rights for two reasons: (1) it requires him to direct his request to cancel membership dues deductions to the union, rather than to his employer; and (2) it requires such requests to be in writing. (Martin First Amendment Complaint ¶¶ 58, 60-62.) Citing to Janus , Martin alleges that "[e]very public employer and every public-employee union must honor and implement the wishes of an employee who has withdrawn his 'affirmative consent' to union fees or assessments-regardless of how a public employee chooses to communicate his instructions." (Id. ¶ 57.) On July 6, 2018, Martin sent an email to his employer, Riverside Unified School district, asking that all union-related payroll deductions cease. (Id. ¶ 60.) However, Martin claims that § 45060(e) "instructs the school district to continue diverting [his] paycheck toward the union-in violation of Janus and in violation of [his] First Amendment rights-because [he] chose to submit his e-mail directly to school officials rather than asking the union to take care of matters." (Id. ¶ 61.)
The Union Defendants argue that Martin does not have standing to challenge § 45060 because his request to cancel membership dues deductions has been processed. (See Martin Union Mem. at 31; Scott Decl. ¶¶ 3-8, Doc. 61-10.) Indeed, while the Union Defendants did not receive Martin's email, upon receipt of the Complaint on July 23, 2018, the Union Defendants wrote Martin a letter explaining that Riverside Unified did not have the authority to terminate the union membership of its employees. (See Scott Decl. ¶ 4.) On August 3, 2018, the Union Defendants informed Martin that they would consider this lawsuit a request to resign his membership and that he would be considered terminated as of July 23, 2018. (Id. ¶ 5.) Though this was fifteen days after Martin sent the email to Riverside Unified, the lapse is irrelevant because "dues deductions would have already ceased for the year as of June 30, and no further deductions were scheduled to be made in July." (Id. ¶ 7.)
*886In response, Martin argues that the Union Defendants are attempting to moot his claims by voluntarily deciding to halt payroll deductions after he sued. (Martin Union Opp. at 32.) Further, Martin argues that his claim is not moot "because California law requires the school district and the union to continue taking membership dues from Mr. Martin's paycheck-notwithstanding his resignation from membership-until Mr. Martin submits a request to the union 'in writing' that revokes his previous authorization for payroll deductions." (Id. )
Here, it appears that Martin's claim is moot. "A case becomes moot-and therefore no longer a 'Case' or 'Controversy' for purposes of Article III-when the issues presented are no longer live or the parties lack a legally cognizable interest in the outcome." Yohn ,
However, even assuming that Martin's claim is not moot, the Court concludes that his claim fails as a matter of law. Section 45060, on its face, does not violate the First Amendment. Contrary to Martin's contention, Janus does not hold that employees have the right to resign from a union however they want, regardless of state laws that prescribe clear, common-sense procedures for doing so. Submitting a writing to the Union Defendants to halt payroll deductions is not a burdensome requirement. Because the deductions go to the Union Defendants, it makes sense that the halting of such deductions must be communicated to the Union Defendants rather than the school districts. Moreover, as the Union Defendants note, "[m]ost actions of legal significance, including registering to vote, voting itself, filing court papers, and the like, must be done in writing." (Martin Union Reply at 13.)
Accordingly, the Court GRANTS the Union Defendants' Motion to Dismiss and DISMISSES Martin's claim WITH PREJUDICE.
G. Antitrust Claim (Martin )
The Union Defendants next argue that Martin's antitrust claim fails. The Crockett court dismissed an indistinguishable claim with prejudice and the Court finds Crockett 's reasoning persuasive and applicable here. See Crockett ,
As in Crockett , Martin's antitrust theory is that collective bargaining agreements stemming from California's exclusive representation system are anti-competitive because they "require compensation based on union-imposed pay scales and prevent individual employees from negotiating compensation based on individual performance and merits." Id. at 1009,
More specifically, the state-action doctrine immunizes the Union Defendants from antitrust liability because federal antitrust laws do not "restrain a state or its officers or agents from activities directed by its legislature." Parker v. Brown ,
Further, "[t]he labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce."
Finally, the Noerr-Pennington doctrine - by which efforts to convince the government to act in an anticompetitive manner are protected by the First Amendment - also bars Martin's antitrust claim. "Federal antitrust law ... does not 'regulate the conduct of private individuals in seeking anticompetitive action from the government.' " Crockett ,
Accordingly, the Court GRANTS the Union Defendants' Motion to Dismiss and DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE Martin's antitrust claim.
*888H. Constitutionality of Exclusive Representation (Few )
Finally, United Teachers Los Angeles argues that Plaintiff Few's claim that California's exclusive representation system violates the First Amendment is foreclosed by the Supreme Court's decision in Minnesota State Board for Community Colleges v. Knight ,
In Knight , the Supreme Court held that a system of exclusive union representation does not violate the speech or associational rights of individuals who are not members of the union. Knight ,
Accordingly, the Court GRANTS United Teachers Los Angeles' Motion to Dismiss and DISMISSES Few's exclusive representation claim WITH PREJUDICE.
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS all of the Motions to dismiss currently before it. As a result, this Order completely disposes of Babb , Wilford , and Matthews , and the Defendants in each case must submit a judgment to the Court no later than five (5) days from the date of this Order. In Few , Few's first claim for relief remains, and in Martin , Plaintiffs' second claim for relief remains.
Nearly all of the moving Defendants are teachers' unions. After identifying the specific unions in each case, the Court will thereafter collectively refer to the teachers' unions as "the Union Defendants."
Plaintiffs Georgia Babb, John J. Frangiamore Jr., William Happ, Aaron Holbrook, Michelle Pecanic-Lee, David Schmus, and Abram van der Fluit opposed (Babb Opp., Doc. 77) and the Union Defendants replied (Babb Reply, Doc. 78).
Plaintiffs Scott Wilford, Bonnie Hayhurst, Rebecca Friedrichs, Michael Monge, Harlan Elrich, Jelena Figueroa, and Gene Gray opposed (Wilford Opp., Doc. 169) and the Union Defendants replied (Wilford Reply, Doc. 170).
Plaintiffs Tina Matthews and Paul Tessaro opposed (Matthews Opp., Doc. 33) and the Union Defendants replied (Matthews Reply, Doc. 37).
Plaintiffs Lori Bonner, Philip David Glick, Kimberly Jolie, and Michael Martin opposed (Martin State Opp., Doc. 79) and the State Defendants replied (Martin State Reply, Doc. 85.)
Plaintiffs opposed (Martin Union Opp., Doc. 78) and the Union Defendants replied (Martin Union Reply, Doc. 87).
Plaintiff Thomas Few opposed (Few Opp., Doc. 48) and United Teachers Los Angeles replied (Few Reply, Doc. 49.)
As noted above, although the Martin Plaintiffs bring an identical claim, they consent to its dismissal pursuant to Knight. (Martin Union Opp. at 35.)
See Pan Decl. in Babb ¶¶ 3-4, 7-10, Doc. 63-9; Mar Decl. in Babb ¶¶ 4-15, Doc. 63-6; Pan Decl. in Wilford ¶¶ 3-4, 7-10, Doc. 163-8; Schneiderman Decl. in Wilford ¶¶ 2-6, Doc. 163-6; Pan Decl. in Matthews ¶¶ 3-4, 7-10, Doc. 27-5; Mar Decl. in Matthews ¶¶ 4-15, Doc. 27-8; Pan Decl. in Martin ¶¶ 3-4, 7-10, Doc. 61-7.
The Wilford Plaintiffs suggest that their refunds for fees paid prior to Janus for post-Janus pay periods were incorrectly calculated. (See Wilford Opp. at 3-4.) The Pan Reply Declaration (Doc. 170-1) appears to answer their questions regarding the refund process, and regardless, whether the refunds were properly calculated is "not properly before the Court." See Lamberty v. Conn. St. Police Union , No. 3:15-CV-378 (VAB),
Plaintiffs' proposed rule also fails "because affirmative defenses need not relate to or rebut specific elements of an underlying claim." Cook , 364 F.Supp.3d at 1191 (citing Jarvis v. Cuomo , 660 F. Appx. 72, 75-76 (2d Cir. 2016) ).
Plaintiffs also argue, based on Callet v. Alioto ,
The Matthews Plaintiffs' UCL claim is also barred by § 1159's broad language. See § 1159 (applying to "any claims or actions under the law of this state"). Furthermore, even if it were not barred by § 1159, the UCL claim fails because the Union Defendants are not a "business" and collecting agency fees in compliance with state law is not a "business act or practice." See That v. Alders Maintenance Ass'n ,
The Union Defendants also argue that the Martin Plaintiffs lack standing to challenge § 3558 because their respective unions already have their contact information pursuant to § 3558. (Martin Union Mem. at 23.) However, the harm that Plaintiffs identify is the fact that they were allegedly compelled to share the information, and thus the fact that the unions already have such information does not deprive Plaintiffs of standing.
The Union Defendants rely on the less-stringent exacting scrutiny standard articulated by the Supreme Court in John Doe No. 1 v. Reed ,
See also Buckley v. Valeo ,
Just like the Martin Plaintiffs, the plaintiff in Crockett conceded that her claim was foreclosed by Knight. See Crockett ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Georgia BABB v. CALIFORNIA TEACHERS ASSOCIATION Scott Wilford v. National Education Association Tina Matthews v. United Teachers Los Angeles Michael Martin v. California Teachers Association Thomas Few v. United Teachers Los Angeles
- Cited By
- 35 cases
- Status
- Published