By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org

LOS ANGELES – A 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that nixed the Big Labor practice of forcing nonunion employees to subsidize political causes is the basis for a new lawsuit that seeks to end all forced dues for non-members.

The Washington Examiner reports that 10 California educators are suing their state and national teacher unions over the practice of “agency fees,” the monthly contributions nonunion members are legally required to pay their local unions for various “services” the unions provide them – whether they want them or not.

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For example, California teachers are paid and evaluated by the terms of contracts that local teachers unions negotiate on their behalf. The teachers are forced to work under the conditions of that contract, which may contain a lot of conditions and clauses they disagree with.

Regardless, the nonunion teachers are still forced to pay the union hundreds of dollars a year for this “service.”

But that could change if this group of Golden State teachers wins their lawsuit, which is largely based on the reasoning of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 7-2 ruling in last year’s Knox v. Service Employees International Union ruling.

The teachers are being represented by attorney Michael Carvin, who summarized their position:

“Forcing educators to financially support causes that run contrary to their political and policy beliefs violates their First Amendment rights to free expression and association and cannot withstand First Amendment scrutiny,” Carvin said, according to the Washington Examiner. “The Supreme Court questioned the continued constitutionality of ‘agency shop’ laws last year in the Knox decision.”

In his explanation of the court’s Knox decision, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito noted that so-called agency fees represent “a remarkable boon for unions. Unions have no constitutional entitlement to the fees of nonunion members.”

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Alito also wrote, “Because a public-sector union takes many positions during collective bargaining that have powerful political and civic consequences, the compulsory fees constitute a form of compelled speech and association that imposes a significant impingement on First Amendment rights.”

The Center for Individual Rights is assisting the teachers with their lawsuit.

“Individual teachers have a constitutional right to decide for themselves whether to join a union and financially support its efforts,” CIR President Terry Pell said, according to the news site.

“The government may not compel teachers to provide financial support to policies with which they fundamentally disagree.”

It may take years before the 10 California teachers get a definitive decision from the courts on the merits of their complaint.

But if they end up winning this case, it will finally put teachers in the driver’s seat in their relationship with the teacher unions. That’s long overdue.