Home care aide claims union won’t let her cancel membership

LOS ANGELES – A California mother who cares for her disabled daughter is suing a union that represents home health care workers because she said the group won’t let her cancel her membership.

Delores Polk says in the lawsuit filed Thursday in Sacramento federal court that a telemarketer with the Service Employees International Union pressured her to join and failed to properly inform her that she could decline membership.

The suit brought by the National Right to Work Legal Defence Foundation is the latest in a string of cases nationwide that challenge strict rules on when members can leave the union.

Polk says she tried to cancel her membership soon after joining, but was notified that she had to do so in writing and would have to wait nearly a year to do so.