On May 17, the U.S. Department of Justice settled a lawsuit four unions filed asking a federal court to declare that a federal law prohibiting members of the armed forces from unionizing did not apply to members of the National Guard on state active duty.
Four unions representing workers in Connecticut—American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 4, the Connecticut Police and Fire Union, the National Association of Government Employees, and Civil Service Employees International Union Local 2001—filed a lawsuit on Nov. 15, 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Attorneys from Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic and Livingston, Adler, Pulda, Meiklejohn & Kelly represented the unions.
A union representative said at the time, “We are bringing this lawsuit because Guard members on state orders should have the same opportunity to have a voice in their state workplace as the public employees with whom they work shoulder to shoulder.”
The unions’ lawsuit said:
“While serving under the command of the Governor and pursuant to state law, Guard members work alongside other state and local employees. Yet unlike firefighters, healthcare workers, law enforcement, emergency medical technicians, and other state and local employees, members of the Connecticut National Guard have no labor organization that can represent them...
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