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Ben Branch, et al. v. Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations, et al.

Paid petition · Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, No. SJC-12603 · judgment April 9, 2019

Certiorari denied · January 13, 2020
Pre-decision estimate: 5% cert probability (95% interval 3%–8%)

Before the decision, modestly above the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and a petition filed soon after the judgment below.

Questions presented

Government-designated unions representing everyone in a bargaining unit negotiate the wages and working conditions of Massachusetts public employees. Taxpayers play no part in these negotiations. Here, the union also excludes from negotiations all represented employees who do not financially support its partisan political activities.

  1. When a public employee union uses its governmentgranted authority as employees’ exclusive bargaining representative to compel employees to choose between a voice and a vote in their working conditions and their political autonomy, is that choice so attributable to the state as to trigger First Amendment protection?

  2. Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, may a state allow an exclusive bargaining representative to muzzle the speech of employees by denying them a voice and a vote in their working conditions if they choose to refrain from financially supporting partisan union politics? (i)

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Bruce N. Cameron
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation

For respondent
Jeffrey William Burritt
National Education Association

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Amicus briefs
2 cert-stage

Proceedings

  1. Jan 13 2020
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Dec 11 2019
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/10/2020.
  3. Dec 05 2019
    Reply of petitioners Ben Branch, et al. filed.
  4. Nov 22 2019
    Brief of Union Respondents Massachusetts Society of Professors/MTA/NEA, et al. in opposition filed.
  5. Nov 22 2019
    Brief of respondents Department of Labor Relations, Commonwealth Employment Relations Board, et al. in opposition filed.
  6. Sep 17 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 22, 2019.
  7. Sep 12 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from September 23, 2019 to November 22, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
  8. Aug 23 2019
    Response Requested. (Due September 23, 2019)
  9. Aug 14 2019
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/1/2019.
  10. Aug 07 2019
    Brief amicus curiae of Pioneer Institute filed.
  11. Aug 06 2019
    Waiver of right of respondents Department of Labor Relations, Commonwealth Employment Relations Board, et al. to respond filed.
  12. Aug 06 2019
    Waiver of right of respondents Massachusetts Society of Professors/MTA/NEA; Hanover Teachers Association/MTA/NEA; Professional Staff Union/MTA/NEA to respond filed.
  13. Jul 25 2019
    Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation filed.
  14. Jul 08 2019
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 7, 2019)