CINCINNATI (AP) -- Five nonunion city firefighters sued a labor union and the city Monday, accusing them of illegally deducting union dues from their paychecks without giving them an opportunity to object.
The firefighters say the deductions without their consent violate their constitutional rights.
Nonunion workers should have the right not to pay dues that are used for unions' political activities or other activities unrelated to collective bargaining, said the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation of Springfield, Va., which filed the lawsuit representing the firefighters.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court against the Cincinnati Fire Fighters Union Local 48, an affiliate of the International Association of Fire Fighters, Mayor Charlie Luken and other city officials.
The deductions have continued for years without allowing nonunion firefighters to object before an independent authority and without an independent audit of the union's books to determine what amount is needed for the union to represent the firefighters in collective bargaining, according to the lawsuit.
An independent arbitrator has upheld the union's collection of the fees in the amount being collected, union spokesman Doug Stern said Monday.
Union leaders believe the firefighters are being appropriately assessed for the costs of representing them in labor matters, Stern said.
``They are using the benefits of our contract, so they should be responsible for maintaining the contract,'' he said.
The city is authorized by state law and by its contract with the firefighters to deduct payroll fees to cover the union's costs of representing the firefighters, City Manager Valerie Lemmie said Monday.
The lawsuit requests a court order to stop the deductions, plus unspecified money damages and return of disputed deductions collected since July 2002. The lawsuit also asks Judge Herman Weber to make it a class action.
The amount of money that could be returned could be as much as $100,000, if the court allows the lawsuit to represent other firefighters, the foundation said.
