Buckeye Reporter

On July 22, 2025, The Buckeye Institute filed an appeal brief in the case of Sheldon v. Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) with Ohio’s Seventh District Court of Appeals. The organization seeks to reverse the lower court's dismissal and address what it terms as union wage theft practices. Matthew Sheldon from Carrollton, Ohio, is represented by The Buckeye Institute in this case, one of seven similar cases initiated by the institute.

Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute and attorney for Mr. Sheldon, stated, “The facts of this case are not in dispute. Mr. Sheldon has ended his membership in the government union. Under Ohio law, this fact ends his ‘membership contract.’ What is in question is whether the courthouse doors are open to Mr. Sheldon—and other Ohioans—to bring his case and end the union’s illegal wage theft.”

The Buckeye Institute argues that the lower court erred by dismissing Mr. Sheldon's case and asserting that it falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the State Employment Relations Board. Furthermore, they claim that closing access to court for Mr. Sheldon contradicts a decision by the Ohio Supreme Court in Ohio Council 8, AFSCME, AFL-CIO v. Lakewood which reaffirmed courts' jurisdiction over private contractual disputes according to Ohio’s Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act. They also emphasize that the Open Courts Provision in the Ohio Constitution mandates that Mr. Sheldon be allowed to present his case.

Further details about Mr. Sheldon's case can be found at BuckeyeInstitute.org/SheldonvOAPSE.