by Jason Russell
Washington Examiner
January 12, 2016
Public employee unions could lose a crucial source of revenue if schoolteacher Rebecca Friedrichs wins her case at the Supreme Court. The ripple effects could damage unions for decades to come.
Or it might help workers, while maybe even helping unions, depending on who you listen to.
“This is not an anti-union case, this is a pro-teacher [case],” Gerard Robinson, a resident fellow in education policy at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, told the Washington Examiner. He said a Friedrichs victory would give teachers the right to decide how to use their money and make choices about their profession. “[A Friedrichs win is] good for workers who happen to be teachers. They have the right to be able to choose again: I like to have more money at home, where do I want to use that money? If I want to use it for political speech, guess what? I can make the decision on where I send that money.” Robinson grew up in a union household and was a union member early in his career.
Jeanne Allen, founder of the pro-school choice group Center for Education Reform, says a victory for Friedrichs would come with a silver-lining for labor unions. “If Rebecca Friedrichs wins, she will likely have an impact on improving the ability of unions to voluntarily work together,” Allen told the Examiner. “This may help unions evolve as a far more better institution than they ever were.”
Schoolteacher Rebecca Friedrichs sued the California Teachers Association for being forced to pay agency fees that cover the cost of collective bargaining. Friedrichs and her lawyers argue that the fees compel her to support political speech she doesn’t agree with, like unions negotiating against merit pay for teachers or negotiating certain pension agreements.
Allen also predicted that more teachers would leave traditional public schools and open alternative schools, such as public charter schools, if union lawyers won the Friedrichs case. “Ironically enough, if [Friedrichs] fails at the Supreme Court, more schools of choice will be born. And so the unions who don’t support school choice should think about that, because if teachers can’t make a choice in traditional public education, they’ll go somewhere else.”