In a filing with the State Employment Relations Board (SERB), The Buckeye Institute charged the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA) with an unfair labor practice for violating the Janus rights of The Buckeye Institute’s client, Ryan Smith, a United States Marine Corps combat veteran. The Buckeye Institute’s filing with SERB follows the union’s silence on Buckeye’s May 15 demand letter to OCSEA’s state leadership, insisting that the union investigate conduct at the union orientation.

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Abbotsford Education Association v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, urging the Wisconsin Court of Appeals to uphold the carefully constructed constitutional balance between the peoples’ right to govern themselves while ensuring fundamental rights are not trammeled. “For the opponents of Wisconsin’s Act 10, their remedy is found in the statehouse, not the courthouse.”

The Buckeye Institute sent a demand letter to the state leadership of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association insisting that it investigate Tim Federkiel, president of AFSCME/OCSEA Chapter 2200, for violating the Janus rights of The Buckeye Institute’s client Ryan Smith, a United States Marine Corps combat veteran. Given Mr. Federkiel’s actions, Buckeye demanded that OCSEA rescind any agreement between Mr. Smith, the union, and any of its affiliates, including any membership application or dues deduction authorization.

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Wolford v. Lopez, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and tell lower courts they are bound by the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings on the Second Amendment. In its brief, The Buckeye Institute urged the U.S. Supreme Court to grant the petition and reverse the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, sending a clear message to lower courts that they must respect and follow U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

The Buckeye Institute, joined by the Pelican Institute, filed an amicus brief in Crowe v. Oregon State Bar, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to protect the First Amendment rights of lawyers and end laws that force attorneys to join state-sponsored bar associations that lobby on inherently political and ideological issues. “When bar associations engage in advocacy and speak on matters of public concern, they are engaging in inherently political speech.”

The Buckeye Institute filed its fourth lawsuit against the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) for its refusal to stop taking money out of the paychecks of public employees who are not members of the government unions. The Buckeye Institute filed Vanderveer v. OAPSE in the Fulton County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Katrina Vanderveer. “In yet another case, the Ohio Association of Public School Employees has refused to stop taking ‘dues’ out of our client’s paycheck.” 

The Buckeye Institute filed its appeal in Flannery v. Eckenwiler with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on behalf of Eric Flannery, the owner of The Big Board, a neighborhood bar and grill located in our nation’s capital. Flannery v. Eckenwiler charges that members of the 6C Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) conspired to protest the renewal of The Big Board’s liquor license to punish Mr. Flannery because he spoke out against D.C.’s pandemic-era shutdown orders.
 

The Buckeye Institute filed its second amicus brief in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management (previously Braidwood Management v. Becerra) with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the Affordable Care Act violated the U.S. Constitution when it elevated the Preventative Services Task Force from its purely advisory role to make it a rule-making body without also reforming how members of the task force were appointed and confirmed. 

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Lozman v. Riviera Beach, Florida, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and tell the government it cannot deny an owner any economically viable use of their land without compensation. “The Supreme Court has explained that the government cannot expropriate an ‘essential use’ of someone’s property without compensation.”

The Buckeye Institute filed a lawsuit against the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) for their refusal to stop taking money out of the paychecks of public employees who are not members of the government unions. The Buckeye Institute filed Chandler v. OAPSE in Stark County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Kevin Chandler, Amy Clark, and Charles C. Perry, Jr.