Allied Universal security guard facing termination says he has religious objections to union dues
San Francisco CA Nov 16 2022
A security guard in San Francisco who faces losing his job because he refuses to pay union dues based on his religious beliefs says his employer and union are violating his constitutional rights, a position that appears to be supported by past court rulings.
Thomas Ross, represented by the National Right to Work Foundation, an anti-union organization, has filed complaints with federal and state agencies claiming religious discrimination by his employer, Allied Universal, and United Service Workers West, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union.
The complaints say Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act requires employers “to accommodate employees who cannot, because of their personal religious beliefs, join or financially support a union.”
Ross was hired in 2020 and said he immediately told both the company and the union that his religious beliefs prohibited him from joining the union or paying dues. He said he received no reply until this Aug. 30, when Allied Universal told him to sign a union membership form and authorize the deduction of dues from his paycheck or lose his job.
He said he refused, but the company nevertheless deducted dues from his pay in September and again threatened to fire him.
In his letter to the company, Ross cited a passage in the New Testament’s Book of Titus that “exhorts servants to be obedient to their own masters.” He also said he could not belong to an organization, such as a union, that “promotes causes that the Bible condemns.”
