A First Amendment Victory for Teachers
Should unions be able to spend the dues of nonmembers on political activities without their prior approval? On June 14, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled-in a unanimous decision-that they cannot, cementing working professionals' First Amendment rights and winning one for union accountability.
The case, Davenport v. Washington Education Association, examined a Washington State statute that required unions to ask before spending nonmembers' dues for political purposes. The court found that the Washington Education Association (WEA) violated this statute, which overrules the Washington State Supreme Court's previous ruling in favor of the union.
"We are elated that the U.S. Supreme Court has honored the First Amendment rights of teachers by overturning the state Supreme Court's decision," said Bob Williams, president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a Washington-based organization that supported teachers in the case.
But the fight is far from over. House Bill 2079 says 100 percent of members' dues can go toward election activities, and dues of nonmembers can go toward other union activities, such as collective bargaining.
"It really is an accounting gimmick," said Michael Reitz, Director and Legal Analyst for the EFF. "Unions hate laws that require them to ask first, and they will do anything they can to eviscerate those laws."
Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna has publicly questioned the constitutionality of HB 2079, and the next step for the EFF will likely involve working with McKenna against it.
Additionally, the EFF is seeking to reinstate a $590,000 penalty against the WEA, and is considering pushing the state to collect six years of interest on that money.
The EFF says that teachers should not have to fight the union that is supposed to be representing them, and making that a reality is their ultimate goal.
"We want true voluntary unionism, where unions are as strong as the voluntary support behind them, but no more," EFF CEO Lynn Harsh said.
"We're not anti-union," Reitz said. "We simply want them subject to the same market forces that any other organization is subject to. As long are they are using these coercive tactics to inflate their numbers, we will work against that."
Continue following EFF's fight for teachers' First Amendment rights at their website: effwa.org.
