For Immediate Release:
September 26, 2006

Contact: Susan Martin, Press Office
415-955-6120 or smartin@pacificresearch.org

WASHINGTON – Today the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will review Washington v. Washington Education Association and Davenport v. Washington Education Association in its upcoming session, giving hope to millions of teachers across the country that they may no longer be forced to pay union dues that fund political causes with which they disagree.

“This is great news,” said Lance Izumi, director of Education Studies at the California-based Pacific Research Institute. “I am optimistic that the Court will secure First Amendment free speech rights of teachers and union-represented employees nationwide.”

The cases began in Washington State where teachers have been embroiled in a conflict with the NEA-affiliated teachers’ union over whether the union has a right to use nonmembers' dues however it chooses. (Nonmembers have resigned from the union but are forced to pay collective bargaining fees.)

Passed by nearly 73 percent of voters in an initiative, Washington’s paycheck protection law has been on the books for over a decade. It requires that union receive the “affirmative authorization” of workers prior to spending their mandatory dues or agency fees on politics.

The union flagrantly violated the law, even admitting to multiple violations during a state investigation. The attorney general sued to enforce the law and the trial court fined the union over half a million dollars. On appeal, the union claimed the law unconstitutionally ‘burdened’ its free speech rights, and unfortunately the Washington Supreme Court agreed.

The case, along with the companion class action lawsuit (Davenport), was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. By accepting the case, the Court will have an opportunity to make it clear that no one should be forced to pay for political causes with which they disagree.

According to some teachers, the Court must support the First Amendment rights of teachers by overturning the Washington State decision. “Our freedoms are so important to us that if we let any organization take them away, our democracy is diminished,” states Jeralee Smith, a teacher in Orange County, California.

For teacher profiles, case background, and the latest news on the case, please visit www.teachers-vs-union.org.

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