December 2015

talkingUnion
with Local 146 Members
December/2015
Who’s Behind Friedrichs?
By Adele M. Stan, from The American Prospect
As the current term of the U.S. Supreme Court
opens this autumn, looming on the docket is
Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a
case designed to decimate public-sector unions.
While it may not come to that—even the most
knowledgeable Court-watchers are unsure how
the justices will rule—the stakes are high. A
decision is expected before the term ends in
June.
The case was, in effect, invited by Justice Samuel
Alito, who penned the majority opinion in Harris
v. Quinn, a 2014 case in which the court ruled
against the union representing home-care
workers in Illinois. In Harris, as Harold Meyerson
wrote here, Alito devoted half of his opinion to
considering the constitutionality of public-sector
unions’ right to collect “fair share” fees from
those who have opted out of union membership.
These fees cover the worker’s share of the
resources the union spent on negotiating a
contract, representing workers in grievance
procedures, and other services that benefit the
entire workforce. They are lower than the dues
assessed the union’s members, whose payments
also cover the cost of their union’s political
activities.
The right of unions to collect fair share fees was
settled by the court’s unanimous decision in
1977’s Abood v. Detroit Board of Education. In
her dissenting opinion in Harris, Justice Elena
Kagan noted that the fair-share issues Alito
brought up were not even before the court in
Harris. Alito’s questioning of the Abood
p.2
p.3
Read More About Friedrichs, Weingarten
Rights and AFSCME Works available online
and Weingarten Rights
Who’s Behind Friedrichs? (Con’t)
Fight for $15 Activities, AFSCME Leads
p.4 Capitol CLUW, Cancer Walk Honors Matulich
p.5
p.6
precedent, however, signaled an inclination by the
conservative majority to revisit it.
Alito’s invitation to reconsider Abood helped
ensure that Friedrichs tore through the legal
system at high speed. But the real force propelling
Friedrichs’ gallop through the courts was the
Center for Individual Rights (CIR), the right-wing
pro-bono law group that is representing teacher
Rebecca Friedrichs and her fellow plaintiffs: At
each stage in the legal process, CIR attorneys
asked the courts to rule against their own clients,
with the apparent interest of moving the case up
to the Supreme Court as quickly as possible.
“It just seems really nefarious,” says Frank Deale,
a professor at the CUNY School of Law. “In fact, it’s
collusive, in a way. You’re setting up this false
scenario, this false conflict, in order to get a
Supreme Court ruling. The Center for Individual
Rights didn’t even make an argument [in the
lower-court filings]. They asked for the court to
rule for the defendant, and then they got
rewarded for it.”
In addition to Rebecca Friedrichs, the plaintiffs
include nine other California schoolteachers, who
have all opted out of union membership. They’re
bringing suit against the California Teachers
Association in a bid to relieve themselves of having
to pay their fair share, via agency fees, for the
services the union is required by law to provide to
them, including contract negotiation and
adjudication of grievances. But the Court’s
ultimate decision could reach further than the
issue of agency fees, in ways that could threaten
the very existence of unions. A narrow ruling, of
course, could have a lesser effect.
This story continues on page 3
Should the Friedrichs plaintiffs succeed in all their
claims before the high court, they could cause
Website:
public-sector unions to have significant drops in
membership, since all the workers covered under
their union contract could cease payment of Email:
Upcoming Events for AFSCME Members: any
dues
Santa,
or fees
Steward
to the
Training,
union,
MLK
even
Day March
though the union
would still be legally obligated to provide Motto: them
with Local services. 146 Leadership The unions Contact would Information, have A to sign up
their union current Thanksgiving members and Friedrichs to collect (Con’t) payments from
them again, causing them to devote additional staff
and resources to organizing. As well, the resources
unions could devote to political action could be
substantially diminished—a possible reason why,
The Friedrichs case has been
characterized as a “Trojan
Horse,” if it becomes the law of
the land, it will unleash many
unexpected consequences that
will destroy the middle class of
America.
AFSCMELocal146.org
AFSCMELocal146@gmail.com
Educate. Motivate. Participate.

More on the Friedrichs Case
To watch videos on the Friedrichs case, visit the AFL-CIO webpage for
messages from Richard Trumpka, President of the AFL-CIO, Liz Schuler,
Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO and a testimonial from AFSCME
sister from Council 75 Karen Williams. Scan the QR code to go directly to
the page.
To read more on Friedrichs, visit Americans Work Together, a partner
of AFSCME, other Unions and organizations such as Interfaith Worker
Justice, at http://americaworkstogether.us/ or scan the QR code below
to go directly to their page.
AFSCME Works Available Online
To visit America Works Together, visit
To read the http://americaworkstogether.us/ latest publications from our or
International scan Union, the QR including code below the to magazine go directly
AFSCME Works, scan the QR Code above to their or visit site.
http://www.afscme.org/news/publications/new
sletters/works.

Friedrichs Case (Con’t from page 1)
Should the Friedrichs plaintiffs succeed in all their claims before
the high court, they could cause public-sector unions to have
significant drops in membership, since all the workers covered
under their union contract could cease payment of any dues or
fees to the union, even though the union would still be legally
obligated to provide them with services. The unions would have
to sign up their current members to collect payments from them
again, causing them to devote additional staff and resources to
organizing. As well, the resources unions could devote to political
action could be substantially diminished—a possible reason why,
with the 2016 elections looming, right-wing organizations have
been so determined to fast-forward the case to the Supremes.
When the Center for Individual Rights first came on the scene in
1989, Frank Deale was on the staff of the Center for Constitutional
Rights, the organization that made its mark in the field of civil
rights. “When I first heard their name I said, ‘For goodness’s sake,
they’re picking up our name,’” he says. “It sounded so similar.”
CIR’s name was likely no accident; it was founded by two lawyers
from the Washington Legal Foundation, a right-wing publicinterest
law organization frequently in combat with the Center for
Constitutional Rights during Deale’s tenure there.
Since its founding, the Center for Individual Rights has maintained
a special focus on challenging civil-rights measures, especially
affirmative action. In 1995, it scored a significant, if fleeting,
victory in Hopwood v. Texas, until the Supreme Court overturned
the federal court decision in the case, which had struck down
affirmative-action admissions standards at the University of Texas
Law School. To step up its efforts, in 1999, CIR ran ads in campus
newspapers seeking plaintiffs among white students looking to
challenge their colleges’ affirmative-action policies.
CIR also set its sights on the 1965 Voting Rights Act, representing
plaintiffs in the recent case Nix v. Holder, which, while
unsuccessful, ran parallel to Shelby v. Holder, the 2013 case that
gutted Section 5 of the VRA, effectively curtailing the enforcement
provision of the law.
The list of foundations and donor-advised funds supporting the
Center for Individual Rights reads like a who’s who of the right’s
organized opposition to labor. A number of those funders,
unsurprisingly, enjoy the support of Charles and David Koch, the
billionaire brothers who are principals in Koch Industries, the
second-largest privately held corporation in the United States.
(Forbes estimates each of the brothers’ personal wealth at $42.3
billion.) Longtime supporters of anti-labor efforts, the Koch
brothers even founded their own organization, Americans for
Prosperity, to create for the Republican right the sort of electoral
get-out-the-vote ground teams that members of unions often
form on behalf of pro-labor, usually Democratic, candidates.
In January 2011, Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips
explained to a room full of right-wing activists in Arlington,
Virginia, why Republicans had failed to gain a more permanent
foothold in Congress in the 1990s: “They had the public employee
unions,” Phillips said of the Democrats, “which have only gotten
stronger, have only gotten better funded, have only gotten better
organized in the period of time between the 1990s and today.”
organized in the period of time between the 1990s and today.”
Six weeks later, Scott Walker, the Koch-supported Wisconsin
governor, introduced the legislation that killed public-sector
unions’ ability to collect agency fees in his state.
Koch-linked groups known to have made grants to CIR, according
to the Center for Media and Democracy, include DonorsTrust, the
Donors Capital Fund, and the Claude R. Lambe Charitable
Foundation. Other CIR funders belong to the Koch donor network.
Among them are the Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation, as
well as the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, which was
instrumental in the legislative attack on labor in Wisconsin. (Scott
Walker was hand-picked as an anti-labor warrior by Bradley
Foundation President Michael W. Grebe back when Walker was in
college; years later, Grebe went on to chair Walker’s gubernatorial
campaign. The foundation, meanwhile, dumped millions into antilabor
think tanks such as the MacIver Institute and the Wisconsin
Policy Research Institute, which supplied the talking points and
ideas that shaped Walker’s 2011 anti-union legislation. By 2013,
the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute had received at least $17
million from the Bradley Foundation, according to the Center for
Media and Democracy.)
Think tanks and groups that receive either direct funding from
Koch entities or are linked to the Koch brothers’ funding network
also filed amicus briefs in favor of the Friedrichs plaintiffs. They
include the Cato Institute, the National Right to Work Legal
Defense Fund, and the Mackinac Center, a major force behind the
2012 anti-union legislation enacted in Michigan.
According to journalist Laura Flanders, earlier in its history CIR also
enjoyed the support of the Pioneer Fund, a white supremacist
organization devoted to the promotion of eugenics. Flanders,
writing in The Nation in 1999, found through an examination of
the group’s tax records that the Pioneer Fund had made three
separate grants to CIR.
While the involvement of the Pioneer Fund in CIR may seem
unrelated to the law group’s anti-union work, it is not uncommon
for organizations opposed to the interests of labor to also have
histories of antipathy to other forms of civil rights. For instance,
Reed Larson, who led the National Right to Work Committee and
the National Right to Work Legal Foundation for three decades,
This story continues on page 6
Do You Have a Retiring Co-Worker?
Our Union would like to recognize retirements,
honor Union membership
and give members information
about our Union Retirees’ program.
Please forward details (retiree’s name,
Chapter, years of service, etc.) to:
AFSCMELocal146@gmail.com
The picture of your retiring co-worker can be in our next
newsletter too, so be sure to submit a photo with the request, if
possible. Thank you.

Fight for $15 Activities
L to R: Karmen Lee
Ortloff, Council 57
Business Agent (hidden
behind the guy… see
her blue sleeve by his
neck?!); Nancy Friel,
Sacramento County
and Local Recording
Secretary and Belinda
Malone, Local 146
President at City Hall
for Fight for $15 rally.
AFSCME Leads Capitol CLUW
The Coalition of Labor Union Women, CLUW, is
reorganized in Sacramento, known as the California
Capitol Region Chapter. The Chapter is led by
AFSCME women.
At the recent CLUW National Conference, held in
Sacramento this November, our CLUW Chapter was
re-issued its Charter. Receiving the Charter was, L to
R: Karmen Lee Ortloff, Council 57 Business Agent;
Amy Day, AFSCME Local 3930; Belinda Malone, Local
President; and Ruth Ibarra, SEIU Local 1000.
AFSCME Local 146 members are on the front lines supporting
low wage workers in their fight for $15 as a starting minimum
wage for the Sacramento area. When the minimum wage
increases, our members, especially on the lower end of the
scale, will benefit as all wages move upwards. For facts about
increasing wages and to debunk the myths, visit
http://www.raisethewagesac.org/ or scan the QR code
below.
CLUW membership is open to both men and women.
In fact, Union brothers fight hard because they have
sisters, mothers, daughters and co-workers that they
want to see treated with equality.
Above: Local 146 President Belinda Malone passing out flyers on Black
Friday at Walmart.
CLUW meets the first Thursday of the month at 6:00
pm at 925 Del Paso Blvd., in Sacramento. CLUW is
new and we will soon be determining our 2016
initiatives and priorities. Join us!
Cancer Walk to Honor Nancy Matulich
AFSCME lost a great friend and Union sister, Nancy Matulich,
to pancreatic cancer. Our Union never forgets our Union
brothers and sisters and in honor of Nancy, members of Local
146 recently participated in the Purple Stride Walk in her
honor.
L to R: Patricia Marshall, SETA and her
mother; Jessica Rainey (SETA President)
Left Pic, L to R: Camille Tyler, RT President and Local
Treasurer; and Connie Leaks, United Auto Workers and
CLUW National President.
Right Pic: Our AFSCME delegation included Union Sisters
and Brothers from around the country at the National
CLUW Convention.

Beginning Steward Training
If you are new to Union activism and want to learn
your rights in the workplace and how to protect the
rights of your co-workers, this class is for you.
Upcoming Events for Members
Santa Visits AFSCME at Skate Rink
In the past, Santa has visited good little AFSCME girls and boys
at a Fire Station. Unfortunately, the Fire Station is unavailable
this year, but luckily, Santa will find us at the Skating Rink!
If you have gone through beginning training and need
a refresher course, you can sign up for these classes.
Option 1:
Saturday, January 16
9:00 am - 4:30 pm
Option 2: (must attend both)
Tuesday, January 26
5:30 – 8:30 pm
And Tuesday, February 2
2150 River Plaza Drive, Sacramento
A minimum of 5 Stewards needed for each class.
Meals will be provided.
Please note: Advanced Steward Training will be
offered soon too.
RSVP to Karmen.ortloff@ca.afscme57.org
Saturday, December 12
11:00 am prompt start
Please note, we have the rink for
2 hours only, so arrive on time to
participate in all the activities
Foothill Skate
4700 Auburn Ave., Sacramento
Free face painting, a family photo
with Santa Claus, skate rental and a
meal of soda, nachos and a hot dog.
Awesome!
This event is free to all AFSCME families.
Save the Date: MLK March
Join us as we participate for the third year in a row in
the MLK Day March. More information is available
online at http://www.mlk365.org/#home and more
information in our next newsletter.
Monday, January 18
Sacramento City College
3835 Freeport Blvd., Sac.
Stage Program: 9:00 am
March Starts: 9:30 am
Bring AFSCME with You
Going on a unique
vacation? Bring AFSCME
gear, your Union newsletter
or other AFSCME materials
along to the beach, the top
of the mountain or the
middle of the ocean for a
great photo and submit it to
our Union newsletter and
we may print it!
AFSCMELocal146@gmail.com
Newsletter Committee
Are you interested in helping put together our
newsletter each month? We’d love to work
with you. Please call Business Agent Karmen
Lee Ortloff at 916.923.1860, ext. 114 or email
her at Karmen.ortloff@ca.afscme57.org.
Keep Up on
Social
Media
Key word: AFSCME
Local 146.

Local 146 Leadership
AFSCMELocal146@gmail.com
Local 146 President
Belinda Malone
divaofdemocacy@gmail.com
Local 146 VP/ NID President Ed Barton
Edbarton357@ymail.com
Local 146 Treasurer/ RT Clerical
President Camille Tyler
ctyler@sacrt.com
Local 146 Secretary Nancy Friel
frieln@saccounty.net
Carmichael Water District President
Clint Lorimer
pcalirose@sbcglobal.net
City of Lodi President
Linda Tremble
Ltremble@lodielectric.com
City of Rocklin President
Tracie Colamartino
Tracie.Colamartino@rocklin.ca.us
Sacramento County Chapter President
Hazel Yedey
yedeyh@saccounty.net
SETA Chapter President
Jessica Rainey
jrainey@headstart.seta.net
SHRA Chapter President
Mike Martz
mmartz@shra.org
Regional Transit Supervisor President
Rodney Beverly
RHBeverly@sacrt.com
Yolo COE President
Allynson Camarillo-Harrell
Allynson.Camarillo@ycoe.org
Council 57 Business Agents
Karmen Lee Ortloff (CWD, NID, Sac
County, SETA, SHRA, Yolo)
916.923.1860, ext. 114
karmen.ortloff@ca.afscme57.org
Nancy Vinson (Cities of Lodi & Rocklin,
Regional Transit)
916.923.1860, ext. 113
nancy.vinson@ca.afscme57.org
AFSCME Council 57 Office
2150 River Plaza Drive, Suite 275
Sacramento, CA 95833-3883
916.923.1860
Fax: 916.923.1877
Local 146 Information
Email: AFSCMELocal146@gmail.com
Online: AFSCMELocal146.org
Friedrichs Case (Con’t from page 3)
was an early member of the John Birch
Society (JBS), as was Fred Koch, father to
Charles and David. (Charles Koch resigned
from JBS in 1968; David Koch does not
appear to have ever been a member.) JBS
opposed the civil-rights movement, alleging
it—and desegregation efforts in general—to
be a communist plot.
One such far-right group included among the
plaintiffs in Friedrichs is the Christian
Educators Association International (CEAI),
which seeks to provide to right-wing
Christian teachers working in public schools
some of the services teachers now receive
through their unions. CEAI is virulently
opposed to LGBT rights, and its website
includes a statement accusing public schools
and the National Education Association
(NEA) of promoting “the homosexual
agenda.” Among the books sold as guides for
teachers on the CEAI website are several by
Carl Sommer, a former New York City high
school teacher known for his opposition to
school desegregation and sex education.
The Right-Wing One-Percenters behind the
assaults on labor appear to be leaving
nothing to chance.
Lawyers at the Center for Individual Rights
understood that Harris v. Quinn, which
challenged the unionization of home-care
aides employed jointly by the state of Illinois
and their individual clients, could well result
in a narrow ruling that applied only to
workers with joint employers in the state of
Illinois. (And that’s exactly what happened.)
The Center’s decision to move Friedrichs
through the legal system at record speed
anticipated just such a ruling—an incomplete
victory—that would require the right to
have, ready to go, a case that could yield a
broader decision.
Now, because Friedrichs could yield a
similarly limited outcome, the anti-labor
right has other anti-union cases in the works.
Late last month, a federal district judge ruled
against the plaintiff in Bain v. California
Teachers Association, a suit challenging
unions’ political activity brought by the
ironically named anti-union group
StudentsFirst, which is helmed by charter
schools proponent Michelle Rhee. If the
Supreme Court doesn’t overturn its 1977
decision in Abood, it’s clear that the Koch
brothers and their allies will run yet another
suit through the courts in their decades-long
effort to destroy unions.
Save Money with
AFSCME Advantage
Being an AFSCME member doesn’t
only provide advantages at the
bargaining table; you can
save on products and services:
Motor Club Savings
Car Buying Services & Rentals
Legal Services
Goodyear Tires & Services Discounts
Scholarships
Bookstore Discounts
Home Mortgages & Assistance Hotline
Credit Counseling
Energy Rebates
Tax Preparation
Retirement Planning
Vacation Tours
Eldercare Services
AT&T Wireless Discounts
Clothing
Checks
Computers
Pet Services
Flowers
Entertainment
Much, much more!
More information is on AFSCME.org,
search “AFSCME Advantage”
Don’t have your Union card? Contact the
membership department at 202.429.8400.
The next U.S. president may get to appoint as
many as three Supreme Court justices. The
fate of labor may well rest with those choices.