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By Ira Fader
O n March 29, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 4-4 ruling in the closely watched Friedrichs
v. California Teachers Association,
affirming the decision of the appeals
court that heard the case.
Had the union lost, the impact
on public-sector unions around the
country would have been immediate
and dire. The outcome of the
Friedrichs case demonstrates one
unassailable point: The Supreme Court
has allowed itself to become a political
arm of the federal government.
Friedrichs was an attack funded
and litigated by a right-wing legal
group on the NEA-affiliated CTA and,
by extension, all public-sector unions.
It sought to abolish “fair share fees,”
the fees paid by those who object to
and don’t want to be represented by
unions. The legal issue concerned the
First Amendment, but the political
issue was the weakening of public-sector unions and the labor movement
itself.
The MTA has very few “agency
service fee payers” — those who pay
fair share fees. Instead, educators sign
up in overwhelming numbers because
they are smart, politically sophisticated
and recognize the power of joining a
public-sector union.
Educators know the importance of
professional collaboration, of working
together to achieve better professional
outcomes. The same principle applies
in labor relations and politics: There
is power in concerted activity and
strength in numbers.
People join unions out of a mix
of self-interest and group-interest. The
rights and benefits your colleague has
are the rights and benefits you have.
Today you protect your colleague;
tomorrow your colleague protects you.
Agency fee payers are not
interested in group-interest. They
represent themselves and no one else.
Still, they reap the benefits of the
group. Why? Because under the law,
the union must provide often costly
representation to them even though
they pay only a percentage of dues —
those covering the costs of collective
representation.
It is not fair for agency fee
payers to receive all the benefits
of collective bargaining — such as
higher compensation, sick and other
leave policies, job protection and all
the privileges and protections found
in bargaining agreements — without
paying a penny toward the costs. Thus,
they pay a fee for those services.
Take a look at your local contract.
Those benefits and rights were not
granted by state law or because of
an employer’s generosity. They exist
because MTA members negotiated
and perhaps fought for them.
The dues of all members pay
for the MTA field representatives
who assist locals in bargaining their
contracts and in enforcing them through
the grievance procedure. Dues pay
for a staff of experienced lawyers
who arbitrate disputes under those
contracts or represent members in court
and before state agencies. Dues pay
for a staff of lobbyists and grassroots
organizers to represent members’
interests in the political arena. Dues
pay for the MTA website and for MTA
Today. And dues fund the activities of
local associations and the NEA.
Like the California affiliate,
the MTA is a powerful player on
the state level. Many of the MTA’s
preK- 12 locals and higher education
associations are powerful and engaged
Continued on next page
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