We represent those hurt by public-sector union officials.
Corrections officer Ryan Bilodeau alleges that union officials have ignored a Connecticut financial transparency law for decades, while state officials have looked the other way. His lawsuit seeks enforcement and accountability.
Corrections officer Ryan Bilodeau seeks to enforced a union financial transparency law for the first time in decades.
The Fairness Center
We are a nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services to those hurt by public-sector union officials. Our clients are public employees and others defending their rights, facing retaliation, fighting unfair representation, or exposing corruption by union officials. We advocate for our clients in the court of law and in the court of public opinion. We offer our services in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York, Colorado, and New Jersey, and to federal government employees.
Featured Client Claims
Karin, an Israeli postdoc at UC Berkeley, alleges that UAW officials discriminated against her after the October 7 terrorist attacks against Israel. She is holding union officials accountable for allegedly violating her civil rights.
Marie alleges that the New Jersey Education Association broke her membership contract by sending $40 million of teachers’ membership dues to a PAC without her consent to support the union president’s run for N.J. governor.
John, a retired Connecticut teacher, alleges that school officials violated his free speech rights by disciplining him for disagreeing with a DEI-style training. He already held union officials accountable for failing to defend him.
Mindy, a Pennsylvania employee, alleges that union officials violated seniority rules to keep themselves and their male friends working during Covid, forcing her to exhaust the PTO she conserves to care for her daughter.
Latest News
Denver firefighters left the state union years ago. They sent us a $400k bill anyway.
Op-Ed | The Denver Post
“For firefighters, trust matters more than almost anything. When we run into burning buildings, we put our safety and our lives on the line. We need to trust those who say they’ll back us up. Unfortunately, Colorado’s statewide firefighters’ union has lost Denver firefighters’ trust. . . We want to affirm Local 858’s separation from the state union and establish that we don’t have to pay a union we don’t belong to.”
Denver firefighters union sues state union over attempt to leave
News | The Denver Post
August 11, 2026: “Denver Fire Fighters Local 858, a union that represents firefighters in Denver, Englewood, Glendale, Sheridan and Skyline, has been trying to disaffiliate from Colorado’s statewide firefighters union since late 2024, but the state and international unions have refused to recognize the local chapter’s departure, according to the lawsuit filed in Denver District Court on Monday.”
Denver firefighters’ union sues state union, IAFF over disaffiliation, $389K dues dispute
News | Fire Rescue 1
August 11, 2026: “Denver Fire Fighters Local 858, which represents more than 1,000 firefighters and EMS personnel, has sued the statewide firefighters union over a dispute involving its decision to leave the organization and nearly $400,000 in dues.”
Due Process Ends at the Labor Board Door
Op-Ed | The Wall Street Journal
August 6, 2026: “Labor boards are supposed to provide fair and evenhanded review. The Supreme Court has long held that “a fair trial in a fair tribunal is a basic requirement of due process,” but many labor boards are acting as if they are exempt from constitutional due-process concerns.”
Unions treat teachers like ‘political piggy banks’
Op-Ed | The Denver Gazette
June 24, 2026: “Before members of the National Education Association (NEA) gather in Denver next month to choose a new president of the largest teachers’ union in America, they should hear Ann Marie Pocklembo’s story. ”
Connecticut Corrections Officer Challenges His Union On Transparency
Op-Ed | New Haven Register
June 19, 2026: “In a prison, rules matter. Procedures matter. Documentation matters. Corrections officers are reminded of that every day, and for good reason. The same expectations should apply to union officials.”
Labor officials change course on union financial reporting law
News | Inside Investigator
May 21, 2026: “Officials at the Connecticut Department of Labor (DOL) recently took steps to enforce a state law requiring some unions to file an annual report with the department and to make that report available to their membership. The law is currently the subject of a lawsuit by members of several public-sector unions[.]”
Unions owe New Jersey workers representation, not retaliation
Op-Ed | NorthJersey.com
May 3, 2026: “Disagree with the union’s top brass, and you may live to regret it. That’s the message MacCarthy received—and he’s not alone. Across New Jersey, public workers who question union officials or exercise their rights against a union too often have found union power turned against them.”
When unions abandon seniority, they abandon their workers
Op-Ed | PennLive
April 12, 2026: “Seniority rights enshrined in contracts are sacred to McFetridge, Burns, and thousands of other Pennsylvania employees, in no small part because unions have long held them out as fundamental protections. When union officials fail to defend them, they turn one of labor’s most basic promises into an empty one.”
It’s time to enforce CT’s union transparency law. An unenforced law protects no one.
Op-Ed | Hartford Courant
March 10, 2026: “[S]ince 1957, unions like mine have had a legal obligation to file annual financial reports with the labor commissioner and make them accessible to members. The law goes even further, allowing members to ask the state to audit those records. In theory, I should have all the information I need. In practice, I’m none the wiser. Union officials, including those in charge of 4Cs, outright ignore the law.”
My union says it protects immigrants. Israelis like me know better
Op-Ed | Jewish News Syndicate
February 27, 2026: “I believe the union has shown selective compassion, celebrating some immigrants while targeting others, especially Jews and Israelis. Academic freedom is supposed to allow scholars to pursue the truth without fear. But when unions make moves that would allow them to target research funding linked to Jewish or Israeli organizations. . . Israeli scholars will think twice before pursuing their careers in the United States.”
Full Measure TV Covers New Jersey Teachers’ Union Lawsuit
TV | Sinclair Inc.
February 22, 2026: “But now–Dupont and fellow New Jersey teacher Ann Marie Pocklembo are suing their union–alleging leadership siphoned members’ money to support the union’s president–Sean Spiller–in his unsuccessful run for governor of New Jersey in 2025.”
Fairness Center president testifies on clients’ behalf in u.s. house Committee hearing
Testimony | U.S. House
December 17, 2025: “It is critically important to my clients and their colleagues to be able to know what the union that represents them is doing with their money, to ensure fair and democratic elections of union officers and representatives, and to ensure transparency, so that union officials are not acting corruptly or in their own interests.”