Pennsylvania corrections officer sues former union, alleges discrimination

(The Center Square) – A corrections officer in Pennsylvania sued his former union in federal court this week, alleging discrimination based on his decision to leave the organization in 2019.

Chris Taylor works at the State Correctional Institution in Huntingdon County and said, in court documents, that the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association implemented a discriminatory fee schedule for nonmembers shortly after he and several colleagues resigned.

The schedule covers costs associated with filing grievances and other contractual proceedings. Taylor alleges the policy, implemented only after he filed a federal lawsuit that encouraged the union to recognize his resignation and refund him paycheck-deducted dues, violates state law that requires unions to provide fair representation.

Nathan McGrath, president of the Fairness Center, said policy “specifically punishes nonmembers.” The legal advocacy group has pursued a number of high-profile cases by public sector workers claiming they were harmed by their unions’ practices or by state laws relating to public sector unions and represents Taylor in this and other legal challenges.

“State law, however, is clear: unions owe the same representation to all public employees they represent when it comes to contract issues, whether the employees choose to be members of the union or not,” McGrath said.

Taylor is also a plaintiff in a separate lawsuit against the union and SCI-Huntingdon that questions how former officers spent more than $20,000 collected in membership dues.

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