In May 2019, Isaac Wolf filed a federal lawsuit against his employer, the Regents of the University of California, and University Professional & Technical Employees Communications Workers of America Local 9119 for violating his First Amendment rights to free speech and freedom of association.
Wolf began working for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in March 2018. Later that year, after the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that it was illegal to require government workers to pay union dues and fees as a condition of employment, Wolf attempted to resign from the union.
The union refused his request, claiming he must wait until an arbitrary window of time to exercise his First Amendment rights. His employer responded that they could no longer correspond with employees regarding union membership due to a California Law. Wolf turned to the Liberty Justice Center and the California Policy Center for help.
Attorneys from the two organizations have filed Wolf v. UPTE-CWA 9119 et al., on his behalf to force the union to recognize workers’ First Amendment rights.
