Whether a public sector union acts 'under color of law' for purposes of Section 1983 when compelling non-union public employees to pay dues through government payroll deduction systems

No question identified. : Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 13.5, all abovecaptioned Applicants hereby move for an extension of time of 60 days, up to and including May 10, 2024, for the filing of a petition for a writ of certiorari. In support of this request, Applicants state as follows: 1.The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion on October 23, 2023 (Exhibit 1), and issued its order denying rehearing en banc on December 12, 2023 (Exhibit 2). The mandate issued December 20, 2023. Unless an extension is granted, the deadline for filing a petition for certiorari will be March 11, 2024. Applicants are filing this application at least ten days before that date, in accordance with Supreme Court Rule 13.5. This Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §1254(1). 2. This case concerns whether unions are acting under “color of law” (as so-called “state actors”) when they utilize government payroll deduction systems to compel non-union public employees to pay union dues. It also concerns whether the First Amendment requires public employers to implement procedural safeguards when deducting union fees from their nonunion employees’ wages to ensure those employees are not being compelled to fund a union’s political speech. 3. Carolyn Crouthamel, Diane McAllister, and Joanne Baker are non-union public school district employees in Washington who had money deducted from their wages by their employers and forwarded to Service Employees International Union, Local 1948 (“SEIU”) to subsidize its political speech. brought constitutional claims under § 1983 against their respective school districts (and superintendents) and SEIU for compelling them to pay post-resignation nonmember fees after they had successfully resigned their union membership and objected to any further deduction of such fees. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision on October 23, 2023, affirming the district court’s decision to grant summary judgment for defendants. The Ninth Circuit held that the § 1983 claims brought against SEIU fail for lack of state action, and the § 1983 damages claims against the school districts and superintendents failed because local governments cannot be liable for following state law. See Ex. 1. The Ninth Circuit denied rehearing en banc on December 12, 2023. See Ex. 2. 3.The Ninth Circuit’s holding regarding state action conflicts with the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31, 138 S.Ct. 2448, 2486 (2018). The panel’s holding that a union is not acting under color of law pursuant to § 1983 as a “state actor” when it instructs government employers to deduct nonmember fees from the wages of non-consenting non-union public employees’ wages,