Kioussis v. Service Employees International Union Local 668

**Union Fee Collection Case Dismissed** This case involved workers who sued their union, Service Employees International Union Local 668, claiming the union violated their First Amendment rights by collecting "fair-share fees" from employees who weren't full union members. The court dismissed the workers' lawsuit entirely. The judge ruled that the union acted in good faith when it collected these fees because it was following Pennsylvania state law and U.S. Supreme Court decisions that were valid at the time. Even though some of these laws later changed, the court found the union couldn't be held responsible for following what was then legal precedent. **What This Means for Workers:** This ruling shows that unions generally can't be sued for past actions that were legal when they occurred, even if the law later changes. However, the broader context is important: fair-share fees (requiring non-members to pay some union costs) have become much more restricted following recent Supreme Court decisions. Workers today have stronger rights to refuse paying union fees if they choose not to join. While this specific case favored the union, the legal landscape around union fees has shifted significantly in favor of worker choice in recent years.