The “Bumpy Ride” is For Those Forced to Pay, Not Unions

Madeline Will, Education Week blogger, interviewed Randi Weingarten about the upcoming Janus v. AFSCME case. While Weingarten declares Janus will be a “bumpy ride” for unions, she really means it will be a bumpy ride for union officials. When she speaks of Janus destroying teachers’ right to be politically involved, she really means teacher union officials’ political involvement.  Teachers pay forced dues so teacher union officials can pursue their OWN political agendas, not the political agendas of those teachers who pay forced dues.  The people who brought the case want teachers to have the choice of whether to be politically involved or not.  Right now, teacher union officials are making that choice FOR them.  If a union benefits its members, teachers will want to join.  If a union does not represent its members, they should  not be forced to accept that representation.

The Supreme Court will decide Janus soon. Obviously, this is all coming at an interesting time for the unions…

It’s so Dickensian. It’s like the best of times and the worst of times. Janus is both a huge challenge and a huge opportunity. I mean, I certainly wouldn’t have wanted the case.

I don’t normally talk about [the numbers], because anything I talk about publicly in terms of estimates will be used as fodder by the right wing. But yes, we’re planning. We have various different scenarios that we’re planning for. It is at someone’s peril to try to write our obituary.

[Editor’s note: The other major teachers’ union, the National Education Association, is forecasting a loss of 307,000 members over two years, if the Supreme Court eliminates agency fees, according to union analyst Mike Antonucci. He broke the story at the 74 Million.]