CSU employees file class action lawsuit

After three months of waiting, Cal State Long Beach employee David Friedman received word that the suit he filed against the California State Employee Association has gone to the next level.

"Now each employee doesn't have to individually file a suit, we can represent the entire group," said Friedman, lead plaintiff in the case and a Cal State Long Beach University Police dispatcher

A U.S. District Court Judge in Sacramento gave the green light to Friedman and a potential 10,000 California State University system employees  to proceed as a unit in this case against the union.

"Anytime someone tries to take money form your wallet it's an issue," Friedman said.

CSU staff members currently paying involuntary union fees are the potential plaintiffs in the case, which accuses the organization of violating their constitutional rights.

The union has represented CSU employees since 1931 in non-teaching positions such as technicians, janitors and data entry clerks, and currently has 16,000 official members.

Since January of this year about $30 per month has been directly removed from the paychecks of the non-union CSU staff, according to Friedman.

Friedman, along with Pat Aimes, an employee of Cal State Fullerton, and Marion Smith,  an employee of Cal State Dominguez Hills, are being represented by attorneys from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

"I truly support unions' abilities to do what they do, but our intention is standing up for non-members," Friedman said.

The suit alleges that the union is using these involuntary fees for political lobbying, which is a violation of the First Amendment, Friedman said. Union officials deny that allegation.

"We're very strict about not using union fair share fees for political use," said David Calderia, CSU Division Administrator of the CSEA who was unaware of last week's class action decision.

The fees are being used to provide representation for issues involving the negotiation of contracts, protecting those who have been treated unfairly on the job and efforts to increase pay, Calderia said.

"I think they're upset because they've been getting something for free for the last 20 years, and now they have to pay for it," Calderia said.

The union is allocating this money under the new state Senate Bill 645, which passed at the end of last year, Calderia said.

"There is no question in my mind that this law passed so the unions can contribute to political activities," Friedman said.

The National Right to Work Foundation also claims that during 1998 the CSEA contributed over $7,000  in cash to Governor Gray Davis' gubernatorial campaign.

The court will decide whether the union's use of the fees is justifiable based on a 1998 audit of their expenditures, Calderia said.

"Our money is  spent on representation and our audit will prove this to be true," Calderia said.