Larry Sand Reflects on Harris v. Quinn

California Teacher Empowerment  Network founder Larry Sand comments on the impact of the Harris v. Quinn Supreme Court case, brought by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, and the prospects for more teacher freedom in the near future.  Read the full story at unionwatch.org.

Last Monday, Illinois governor Bruce Rauner issued an executive order that, if it stands, will absolve state workers from paying forced dues to a union. As The Wall Street Journal reports, Rauner declared that Illinois’s contracts with public unions “violate the First Amendment by forcing workers to associate with the union against their will.” Rauner instructed all state agencies to keep the workers’ dues in escrow, pending the outcome of a federal court lawsuit that he filed the same day.

California law dictates mandatory, monopoly bargaining, and compulsory unionism.  All districts are required to subject all teachers to monopoly bargaining, or exclusive representation, and all teachers must either join or pay an agency shop fee in California, if they refuse to actually join a labor union.

If a union is beneficial to a teacher, they will join, and should have the right to do so.  If a teacher does not find the union is beneficial, he or she should have the right to refrain from joining.