Pennsylvania Musician Opposed To Funding Lefty Causes Challenges Forced UnionizationA Pennsylvania musician opposed to funding left-wing political causes with his union dues invoked the Supreme Court in his lawsuit.BY: KEVIN MOONEY
MARCH 09, 2023
Instead of plying his trade as a musician during the height of the Covid pandemic, Glen Wilkofsky’s union dues were paying for political activism he did not support.
As the principal timpanist for the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, Wilkofsky was not keen on vaccination mandates that created additional hurdles for him and his colleagues to resume their normal schedule. But the union leaders he supported financially embraced government restrictions and health-care directives enthusiastically.
The orchestra usually played several concerts annually throughout the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania but only played two in 2020 under government-imposed lockdowns. During this time, orchestra members did not draw a salary, but the American Federation of Musicians Local 45, an affiliate of an international union representing Canadians and Americans, still expected them to pay dues.
“Before Covid, my contact with the union had been peripheral at best,” Wilkofsky said in an interview. “My union membership was forced on me as a condition of my employment. But I have found that the union is very politically active and does not really represent my interests. In fact, I would say the union is really a left-leaning political action committee that masquerades as an advocate for musicians. They support one political party nearly 100 percent of the time, and it looks to me like they spend zero percent of their time representing musicians.”
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In May 2021, Wilkofsky received an email from a union shop steward who demanded that he pay dues she claimed were owed from the beginning of the year.
“She began by misspelling my name and didn’t even bother to ask how I or my wife were doing during Covid,” Wilkofsky said. “There was nothing in the message pertaining to our health or well-being or anything you might expect from your union representatives during this challenging time. The letter was quite threatening, and it was a real tip-of-the-spear moment for me that reinforced the way I had felt for a long time. I was looking for an affirmative way to engage with the union and secure my rights.”
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The Fairness Center, a national nonprofit public interest law firm headquartered in Harrisburg, filed suit on Wilkofsky’s behalf in April 2022, naming the symphony and union as defendants. The musician’s attorneys argued that the defendants violated his constitutional rights under the First and 14th Amendments by compelling him to pay dues. They also cited Janus.
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Source:
https://thefederalist.com/2023/03/09/pennsylvania-musician-opposed-to-funding-lefty-causes-challenges-forced-unionization/
