California teacher's Supreme Court case may determine future of public employee unions
Jun 30, 2015 18:25:37 #
Rebecca Friedrichs, an Orange County schoolteacher, is the lead plaintiff in a case brought by a group of schoolteachers challenging fees charged to nonmembers of California's public unions.
By David G. Savage
June 30, 2015, 7:18 a.m.
The Supreme Court said Tuesday that it would hear a major challenge to California's public unions and decide whether they may charge fees to non-members to support collective bargaining.
At issue is a 1970s-era court precedent that allows these unions in California and 20 other states to collect "fair share" fees from all employees.
The court's conservatives, led by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., have signaled that they see these forced fees as unconstitutional because they require some employees to support a cause they oppose.
In the fall, the justices will hear a direct challenge to the fees brought on behalf of Rebecca Friedrichs, a public school teacher in Orange County who objects to supporting the California Teachers Assn.
The case is likely to be seen as a crucial test of public employee unions, which have been under political attack in several Republican-led states. The outcome may well have a political impact as well, because these unions have been reliable supporters of the Democratic Party.
The Center for Individual Rights, a small conservative group in Washington, wanted to bring the issue before the high court as soon as possible. The group funded the lawsuit, which alleges that forcing Friedrichs and other teachers to fund their union is a type of unconstitutional compelled speech.
The lawsuit said full dues for teachers who join the union are about $1,000 a year, but non-members still have to pay about $650 on average for their share of the cost of collective bargaining, which has been deemed to benefit all workers, including non-members.
Lawyers for the CTA and California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris defended the union fees on the grounds that they were authorized by law and were a fair way to have all the employees pay the cost of collective bargaining. A federal judge and the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the challenge, citing the Supreme Court's 1977 ruling in Abood vs. Detroit Board of Education.
Earlier this year, the Center for Individual Rights filed an appeal urging the justices to overrule that high-court precedent and strike down what it called the "multi-hundred-million dollar regime of compelled speech."
"This case is about the right of individuals to decide for themselves whether to join and pay dues to an organization that purports to speak on their behalf. We are seeking the end of compulsory union dues across the nation on the basis of the free-speech rights guaranteed by the 1st Amendment," Terry Pell, the groups president, said Tuesday.
Leaders of the nations two largest teachers unions criticized the court for taking up the case.
We are disappointed that at a time when big corporations and the wealthy few are rewriting the rules in their favor, knocking American families and our entire economy off-balance, the Supreme Court has chosen to take a case that threatens the fundamental promise of America -- that if you work hard and play by the rules you should be able to provide for your family and live a decent life," read a statement from National Education Assn. President Lily Eskelsen Garcia and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.
"The Supreme Court is revisiting decisions that have made it possible for people to stick together for a voice at work and in their communities -- decisions that have stood for more than 35 years, according to the statement, which was endorsed by Eric Heins, president of the California Teachers Assn. and the leaders of AFSCME and SEIU, two giant unions representing public employees.
Meanwhile, the head of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, an anti-union group, welcomed the courts action.
It is an important step towards finally respecting the 1st Amendment rights of Americas public servants, said the group's president, Mark Mix. The American people overwhelming support the principle that while individual employees should be free to join and pay dues to a union if they so choose, none should be required to do so.
By David G. Savage
June 30, 2015, 7:18 a.m.
The Supreme Court said Tuesday that it would hear a major challenge to California's public unions and decide whether they may charge fees to non-members to support collective bargaining.
At issue is a 1970s-era court precedent that allows these unions in California and 20 other states to collect "fair share" fees from all employees.
The court's conservatives, led by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., have signaled that they see these forced fees as unconstitutional because they require some employees to support a cause they oppose.
In the fall, the justices will hear a direct challenge to the fees brought on behalf of Rebecca Friedrichs, a public school teacher in Orange County who objects to supporting the California Teachers Assn.
The case is likely to be seen as a crucial test of public employee unions, which have been under political attack in several Republican-led states. The outcome may well have a political impact as well, because these unions have been reliable supporters of the Democratic Party.
The Center for Individual Rights, a small conservative group in Washington, wanted to bring the issue before the high court as soon as possible. The group funded the lawsuit, which alleges that forcing Friedrichs and other teachers to fund their union is a type of unconstitutional compelled speech.
The lawsuit said full dues for teachers who join the union are about $1,000 a year, but non-members still have to pay about $650 on average for their share of the cost of collective bargaining, which has been deemed to benefit all workers, including non-members.
Lawyers for the CTA and California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris defended the union fees on the grounds that they were authorized by law and were a fair way to have all the employees pay the cost of collective bargaining. A federal judge and the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the challenge, citing the Supreme Court's 1977 ruling in Abood vs. Detroit Board of Education.
Earlier this year, the Center for Individual Rights filed an appeal urging the justices to overrule that high-court precedent and strike down what it called the "multi-hundred-million dollar regime of compelled speech."
"This case is about the right of individuals to decide for themselves whether to join and pay dues to an organization that purports to speak on their behalf. We are seeking the end of compulsory union dues across the nation on the basis of the free-speech rights guaranteed by the 1st Amendment," Terry Pell, the groups president, said Tuesday.
Leaders of the nations two largest teachers unions criticized the court for taking up the case.
We are disappointed that at a time when big corporations and the wealthy few are rewriting the rules in their favor, knocking American families and our entire economy off-balance, the Supreme Court has chosen to take a case that threatens the fundamental promise of America -- that if you work hard and play by the rules you should be able to provide for your family and live a decent life," read a statement from National Education Assn. President Lily Eskelsen Garcia and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.
"The Supreme Court is revisiting decisions that have made it possible for people to stick together for a voice at work and in their communities -- decisions that have stood for more than 35 years, according to the statement, which was endorsed by Eric Heins, president of the California Teachers Assn. and the leaders of AFSCME and SEIU, two giant unions representing public employees.
Meanwhile, the head of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, an anti-union group, welcomed the courts action.
It is an important step towards finally respecting the 1st Amendment rights of Americas public servants, said the group's president, Mark Mix. The American people overwhelming support the principle that while individual employees should be free to join and pay dues to a union if they so choose, none should be required to do so.
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