- Glen Wilkofsky is suing the Allentown Symphony Orchestra after he was banned from playing in 2021
- Wilkofsky, a drummer who worked for the symphony since 2001, stopped paying his union dues after he learned they were used to fund political activity
- His law firm, the Fairness Center, is filing a petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Drummer Glen Wilkofsky, who was booted from playing for the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, is hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will hear his case.
Wilkofsky was the principal timpanist for the orchestra from 2001 to 2021.
According to his attorney, Nathan McGrath, he stopped paying his union dues in 2020 and was barred from performing with the symphony since May 2021.
“Union and management officials are colluding to deny my First Amendment rights by holding my job hostage for one reason: power,” Wilkofsky said in a statement.
"I hope the Supreme Court protects my right to do the job I love without forced submission to a political organization disguised as a union.”
He decided to suspend his dues after he found out they were used to fund political activity, said McGrath, an attorney at the Fairness Center in Harrisburg, on Thursday when reached via phone.
The lawsuit
The musician hired McGrath and the Fairness Center in April 2022. The center is a nonprofit public interest law firm that represents those who object to mandatory public-sector union membership.
Wilkofsky is arguing that a 2018 Supreme Court ruling Janus v. AFSCME — which held that public sector employees have a First Amendment right not to support a union — should apply to the Allentown Symphony Association because it receives public grants to fund its operations.
The lawsuit was first heard in August 2022 by U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr., who rejected the case.
Leeson Jr., ruled that the Allentown Symphony Association does not fall into the category of the public sector employer, so the Janus decision does not apply to Wilkofsky's situation.
His case was also dismissed at the Third Circuit in May 2023, according to a release sent out by the Fairness Center.
If the higher court agrees to hear his case and rules in Wilkofsky's favor, it could set a new precedent for thousands of employees in the commonwealth including those in the medical, educational and transportation sectors.
"That's not the goal of the lawsuit, the goal is to have the court validate [Wilkofsky's] right to be a non-member and not have to pay the union anything while being able to work," McGrath said. "One of the secondary effects may be if the court were to read the statute more broadly, it could encompass more employees."
"I hope the Supreme Court protects my right to do the job I love without forced submission to a political organization disguised as a union.”Glen Wilkofsky
McGrath said it can take several months for the Supreme Court to make a decision.
"The other parties have an opportunity to respond and then the Supreme Court decides whether they will grant it and hear the matter or if they will deny the Cert petition," he said.
In the meantime, Wilkofsky continues to run a music equipment rental business in New York City and is the general director of the Verdi Square Festival of the Arts.
"I think this case is a very interesting question of law and I really hope the Supreme Court also will see it that way and will take the case and want to grapple with it," McGrath said.
