CSEA members recently got a victory over the Freedom Foundation, which has been targeting union members.
The anti-labor group will no longer have access to members’ personal information in Jefferson County, after a state appellate court overturned an earlier that allowed the group the information.
The Freedom Foundation sent a Freedom of Information (FOIL) request to Jefferson County seeking information for every county employee who was represented by CSEA. The group had sought the employee’s first name, middle name, last name, gender, public office address, job title, hire date, agency or department, work email address or naming convention and domain, work telephone number and bargaining unit.
County officials refused to provide the requested information, deeming it an unwarranted invasion of privacy. The Freedom Foundation also wanted the information to solicit employees in their ongoing attempts to scam members into leaving our union.
After the request was denied, the Freedom Foundation sued Jefferson County. In early 2023, New York Supreme Court found that the Freedom Foundation was entitled to the information under Freedom of Information Law in New York.
Jefferson County appealed, arguing that the Freedom Foundation wants the information only for solicitation purposes, which is improper under FOIL. The Freedom Foundation argued that it wanted to educate public employees about the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court Janus decision Janus v. AFSCME Council 31.
In late July, the New York Appellate Division, 4th Department agreed with Jefferson County, reversed the lower court decision and dismissed the Freedom Foundation’s lawsuit.
This is another victory for CSEA members’ privacy and protecting them against unwanted solicitations from the Freedom Foundation.
