Correctional nurses sue Pennsylvania union, alleging unfair representation
(The Center Square) – Two forensic nurses at a state correctional institute in Pennsylvania have sued their union, saying it misled them about their voting rights and used coercive tactics to maintain their financial support.
Geraldine McGraw and Alan Wisnewski filed complaints against SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania after a union official refused to let them vote on a 2019 collective bargaining agreement until they signed new membership cards with updated collection rules for paycheck deducted dues.
Both McGraw and Wisnewski work at Waymart State Prison in Wayne County and had been longtime members of the organization before Kevin Hefty, a union vice president, gave them the ultimatum, court documents state.
McGraw said she signed the new card – which stipulated that paycheck dues deductions for members and nonmembers alike would continue unless halted during a 15-day window each year – because Hefty led her to believe she had no other choice.
Wisnewski refused, according to the complaint, and resigned his membership in September 2019. McGraw followed suit in October 2020, but learned that, based on the terms outlined in the new membership card, the union would continue collecting dues until the 15-day window opened on June 30, 2021.
“Our clients allege that union officials prioritized locking employees into dues payments over making sure union members got the voting rights they were already entitled to,” said Nathan McGrath, president of the Harrisburg-based Fairness Center. “Public employees should be able to trust their union representatives to follow the rules, but unfortunately, that’s not always the case.”
The Fairness Center is representing both McGraw and Wisnewski in court. The legal advocacy group routinely pursues cases against public sector unions that are alleged to have violated workers’ rights through collective bargaining agreement clauses that make it challenging to halt paycheck-deducted membership dues.
The organization has represented at least 10 other public workers in similar cases and received reimbursement, plus interest, for the illegal practice.
The cases follow a 2018 Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME, which overturned decades of precedent that required nonmembers to pay unions an “agency fee” or “fair share fee” for the costs of collective bargaining.
Both McGraw and Wisnewski are suing for breach of contract, unjust enrichment and breach of duty of fair representation. They seek damages, the restitution of deducted dues and attorneys fees.
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