Pennsylvania Teachers Claim Mandatory Union ‘Fair-Share Fees’ Unconstitutional

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A proposed class action filed by three former or current Pennsylvania public school teachers takes issue with the Pennsylvania State Education Association’s (PSEA) policy of requiring non-union members to pay “fair-share fees” to the union, its affiliates, or a union-approved charity. The lawsuit also names as defendants a representative local union chapter; the National Education Association; Pennsylvania’s governor; the state’s attorney general; members of the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board; and a representative district attorney.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants require or allow public school employees who do not belong to the PSEA to pay “unconstitutional” fees as a condition of their employment. One of the named plaintiffs argues he has a right to refuse to support the union’s political agenda and the “excessive salaries paid to even low-ranking” union officers. The other two plaintiffs object to the organization’s policies on religious grounds, the case notes.

Despite their unwillingness to finance the union’s activities, the plaintiffs, the lawsuit says, have been forced to surrender portions of their wages as “fair-share fees.” Similarly, if they declare themselves “religious objectors,” the plaintiffs must redirect the payments to a nonreligious, union-approved charity, according to the case.

The lawsuit claims the fees, though allowed by Pennsylvania state law, are unconstitutional, as proposed class members should not be penalized for exercising their right to refuse to join or support a public-employee union.

The case takes further issue with:

• the purported “40-day window” during which public employees may object to a “fair-share fee”;
• the overriding of proposed class members’ rights by an arbitrator;
• the defendants’ categorical disqualification of religious charities from receiving objectors’ fees;
• threats of fines or imprisonment for those who object to supporting the union; and
• the defendants’ refusal to allow employees to cancel their union membership or redirect their fees any time during the calendar year.

“The defendants have violated the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights by requiring them to pay these ‘fair-share fees’ as a condition of their employment, even though the plaintiffs do not belong to the union and do not wish to subsidize the union’s activities in any way,” the case states.