I saw what you did there

Not all people who come into my library are looking to defend against a criminal complaint.  In fact, some are there to protect themselves from unscrupulous evildoers who seek only to line their pockets with the fat of hard-working men and women.  This is the story of one such women.

A while back, woman worked at a place where she had been working for well over a decade.  Seems out of the blue a union "representative" came to woman's place of business and sought an audience of all the employees.  Seems in the meeting, union rep handed out white cards and said that if anyone wanted "more" information about the union, that they could fill out the white cards and hand them in and they would receive more information in the mail.  Nothing was said about signing-up for the union or joining the union - just that they would receive "more" information in the mail.  Woman filled out and handed in the card for "more" information.

On the next pay period, woman noted that she was taking home 3% less than she had taken home in the past.  Woman goes to her employer asking what is going on.  Employer informs her that because she had joined the union, that that 3% were her union "dues."  Wait, what?!?  When did she join a union?!??!  Turns out woman (along with everyone else who had received that little white card for "more" information had unwittingly signed up for union membership when they handed in that little white card seeking "more" information.  Apparently, according to union reps, "more" means more money in the the union coffers whereas to rank and file employees, "more" means more information so they can make an informed decision.  Oops.

Bottom line, woman feels that union rep mislead woman and woman is now madder than a wet hen.  Woman wants to know how to get out from under union's thumb and/or sue the union.  As her resident local county law Librarian, I suggest a few things.  First, we head over to California Forms of Pleading and Practice Vol. 23, Chapter 269 and look under section 269.19[1] (relating to Intent to Induce Reliance).  While Pleading and Practice is the bomb when it comes to the practice of law in California, I also suggested she take a look at Summary of California Law 10th Ed. Torts, Section 772, p. 1121 (as it relates to general Fraudulent Misrepresentation).

While our law library has killer resources, I know that any good law Librarian should use all resources at their fingertips so I suggested woman run a search in Google.com for "how do I get out of a union" and the first five links she found were:

• How Can I resign my union membership?
• Can You Opt Out of Your Union Dues?
• The Deep Secret that Labor Unions Don't Want Workers to Know
• Can Unions Be Decertified?
• UnionFacts.com

With another library patron satisfied, I back away slowly letting the creative juices to flow of their own accord.  If ever you find yourself in a bind, know that your local county law Librarian has what it takes to help you get up and moving to a more zen state of mind.