Columbus, OH – The Buckeye Institute scored another legal victory, this time for Kevin Chandler, Amy Clark, and Charles C. Perry, Jr.—The Buckeye Institute’s clients in Chandler v. OAPSE. After court-ordered mediation, the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) agreed to return all of the money taken from Mr. Chandler, Mrs. Clark, and Mr. Perry’s paychecks after the three had ended their union membership.

“The unions—OAPSE and AFSCME—made the right choice and chose to refund dues from The Buckeye Institute’s clients after they had terminated their union membership,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute and the attorney representing the three plaintiffs. “By refunding the dues taken, the unions have wisely ended a costly and protracted legal fight for all involved.”

Chandler v. OAPSE was originally filed in Stark County Court of Common Pleas.

As a bus driver for Perry Local Schools, Kevin Chandler ensures that the students who ride his bus arrive at school safely in the mornings and home again in the afternoons. Mr. Chandler does this job every weekday without fanfare and with little thanks. After a year in the government union, Mr. Chandler decided it wasn’t for him. On April 25, 2024, he resigned from OAPSE and asked the union to stop deducting dues from his paycheck. He heard nothing until September 2024, when the union informed Mr. Chandler that they recognized he had quit the union, but they would still take his money regardless. 

Amy Clark is a bus aide with Perry Local Schools, where she helps ensure students are safe on the bus and that the driver can focus on the road. While unglamorous, Mrs. Clark’s job is vital to ensuring the bus driver is not distracted and that students arrive at school and back home again safely. After five years in the government union, Mrs. Clark quit OAPSE in August 2024 and, as with Mr. Chandler, was informed in September 2024 that the union recognized she quit. Still, they would continue taking hard-earned money from Mrs. Clark’s paycheck.

Charles C. Perry, Jr. is a technician with the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority, where he ensures the city’s buses are safe, well-maintained, and in proper working order. Mr. Perry’s job ensures that thousands of Stark County residents safely get where they need to be, whether that be their job, home, place of worship, grocery store, school, or just an evening out at the movies. Disappointed with the government union’s political positions, Mr. Perry notified AFSCME on August 27, 2024, that he had resigned his membership. As with OAPSE, AFSCME officials refused to stop taking money from Mr. Perry’s paycheck until December 2024, even though they acknowledged that he was no longer a government union member. 

# # #