This morning the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association —a case which questions the mandatory fees imposed on teachers by the California teachers union. The plaintiffs argue that the union doesn’t represent their interests on bargaining issues covered by fair-share fees, that these fees violate their First Amendment rights, and that because they disagree with the union, they shouldn’t be forced to support it. Should the Supreme Court rule for the plaintiffs, the decision will have major implications for all teachers and public-employee unions.
Available to discuss this on site at the Supreme Court this morning is AEI resident fellow Gerard Robinson who was commissioner of education for the State of Florida and secretary of education for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Please contact Meg Cahill at meg.cahill@aei.org or 202.578.0755 for interview requests.
Additionally, in a piece out this morning, AEI education data expert Nat Malkus details the effect of the ruling on teachers unions, should the court rule against agency fees:
The initial blow would obviously be a substantial reduction of unions’ income streams. However, the short run hit to revenues pales in comparison to the havoc that would result to union membership. For example, in 2011, after Act 10 abolished agency fees in Wisconsin, union membership fell between 30 and 50%. Similar reductions would be expected in the states that currently require such fees.
Initial drops in membership aren’t the whole story either, as membership should continue to slide over time. This initial shift in the marginal cost of union membership will certainly encourage members who aren’t strongly tied to the union to drop out. Moving forward, unions will face a much harder time recruiting new employees, as union membership becomes a hard sell instead of a default choice. Further, as membership declines, so will the stigma of not belonging to the union, and eventually unions in some places could face the unthinkable: a legitimate challenge to their dominance as “exclusive representatives” in contract negotiations.
To read the full piece, click here.
To arrange an interview on site with Gerard Robinson, please contact Meg Cahill at meg.cahill@aei.org or 202.578.0755. To arrange an interview with Nat Malkus or Rick Hess, please contact AEI Media Services at mediaservices@aei.org or 202.862.5829.
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