Cite as: 510 U. S. 487 (1994)
Opinion of the Court
Whatever the reason that these employees have chosen not to become members of the union or to provide the union with their addresses, however, it is clear that they have some nontrivial privacy interest in nondisclosure, and in avoiding the influx of union-related mail, and, perhaps, union-related telephone calls or visits, that would follow disclosure.8
Many people simply do not want to be disturbed at home by work-related matters. Employees can lessen the chance of such unwanted contacts by not revealing their addresses to their exclusive representative. Even if the direct union/ employee communication facilitated by the disclosure of home addresses were limited to mailings, this does not lessen the interest that individuals have in preventing at least some unsolicited, unwanted mail from reaching them at their homes. We are reluctant to disparage the privacy of the home, which is accorded special consideration in our Constitution, laws, and traditions. Cf. Rowan v. United States Post Office Dept., 397 U. S. 728, 737 (1970); Olmstead v. United States, 277 U. S. 438, 478 (1928) (Brandeis, J., dissenting). Moreover, when we consider that other parties, such as commercial advertisers and solicitors, must have the same access under FOIA as the unions to the employee address lists sought in this case, see supra, at 496, 499, it is clear that the individual privacy interest that would be protected by nondisclosure is far from insignificant.
8 Even the Authority has recognized that "employees have some privacy interest in their home addresses." Brief for Federal Respondent 41 (citing Department of Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, N. H., 37 F. L. R. A. 515, 532 (1990)). The Courts of Appeals that have considered the question have reached the same conclusion, although they have differed in their characterization of the magnitude of the interest implicated. See, e. g., FLRA v. Department of Defense, 977 F. 2d 545, 549 (CA11 1992) ("important" privacy interest); FLRA v. Department of Navy, 966 F. 2d 747, 759 (CA3 1992) (en banc) ("minimal" interest); Department of Veterans Affairs, supra, at 510 ("general privacy interest" in preventing dissemination of home address); Department of Treasury, supra, at 1453 ("significant" interest).
501
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