Several national organizations have filed an amicus brief supporting The Buckeye Institute’s appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court in the case of Sheldon v. Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE). The Buckeye Institute, a non-partisan nonprofit think tank based in Columbus, Ohio, focuses on advancing free-market public policy through research and legal advocacy. The organization operates independently and is funded by private individuals, corporations, and foundations according to its official website.
Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute and attorney for Mr. Sheldon, stated: “The Buckeye Institute is grateful for the support of such a stellar lineup as these nationally renowned groups. This case will affect the rights of every public employee who is a member of a union, and reaffirm the Ohio Constitution’s guarantee that ‘All courts shall be open, and every person, for an injury done him in his land, goods, person, or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law…”
The amicus brief was submitted by Freedom Foundation, Liberty Justice Center, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, and National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. In their filing supporting Matthew Sheldon—represented by The Buckeye Institute—they argue that government unions are unlawfully preventing workers from leaving unions and that state law does not remove court jurisdiction over disputes between workers and unions.
According to the groups involved in the brief: While the government union may claim that Mr. Sheldon signed a contract authorizing the union to keep deducting membership dues from his paychecks even after he was no longer a member of the union, Ohio’s law simply does not allow this unethical practice. It is time for the court to tell the union and the government that their practice is illegal and that they must stop taking money from workers’ paychecks after they leave the union.
The Buckeye Institute has provided research data analysis since 1989 from its Capitol Square offices in Columbus while promoting free-market principles nationally through its official site. For further details about this case or updates on Sheldon v. OAPSE visit BuckeyeInstitute.org/SheldonvOAPSE.
