More than 87,000 Teachers Free Since Janus

Mike Antonucci reports what the NEA isn’t telling the public of the effects of the Janus decision in the 74million.org.   More than 87,000 teachers who were forced to pay dues are freed from the burden since the Janus decision was handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in June.   While the decision does not appear to have changed the union officials’ propensity to spend their members’ money on politics, at least those teachers who disagree with the NEA’s  policies are no longer forced to pay for them.

The National Education Association is feeling the first effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s  Janus ruling, which ended the practice of public-sector unions charging fees to nonmembers. New membership numbers obtained by Union Report show that NEA now stands at 3,001,570 total members — a decline of 17,000 since the last report in April. This erased much of the membership increase the union saw in 2017.

NEA already cut its budget in anticipation of these losses, but it is looking for additional ways to reduce expenditures. The first proposal is to cut the number of days at its annual convention by two, saving $1 million. The Representative Assembly itself, where the union’s delegates debate and vote on policies, endorsements, and the budget, would continue to last four days; some pre-RA activities, which previously ran for about a week, would be eliminated or consolidated.