Tuesday, August 18, 2015

The Art of Deception: Friedrich vs. CTA - Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association:

The Art of Deception:  Friedrich vs. CTA

History is a great teacher. Now everyone knows that the labor movement did not diminish the strength of the nation but enlarged it. By raising the living standards of millions, labor miraculously created a market for industry and lifted the whole nation to undreamed of levels of production. Those who attack labor forget these simple truths, but history remembers them.   ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

History will remember.
Let Dr. King's words lift our spirits in a time when unions are under attack.

Friedrichs vs. CTA will be heard in the Supreme Court this coming year.  As research  into this case is done, a disturbing sense of unease grows.

Here are the Plaintiffs

REBECCA FRIEDRICHS

SCOTT WILFORD

JELENA FIGUEROA

GEORGE W. WHITE, JR.

KEVIN ROUGHTON

 PEGGY SEARCY

 JOSE MANSO

HARLAN ELRICH

 KAREN CUEN

 IRENE ZAVALA

All of these folks are represented by The Center for Individual Rights.  (More on them later)

 Also listed in the lawsuit is the CHRISTIAN EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL, more on them later as well.

Here is the screen shot of the cover sheet of the petition:

The issue at hand from the SCOTUS blog  is whether Abood v. Detroit Board  should be over turned and public-sector “agency shop” arrangements (a.k.a. mandatory union dues) should be invalidated under the First Amendment; and (2) whether it violates the First Amendment to require that public employees affirmatively object to subsidizing nonchargeable speech by public-sector unions, rather than requiring that employees affirmatively consent to subsidizing such speech.”

In plain English, the case will challenge whether Abood, which, according to Cornell Law, was established  by a “Michigan statute authorizing union representation of local governmental employees permits an "agency shop" arrangement, whereby every employee represented by a union, even though not a union member, must pay to the union, as a condition of employment, a service charge equal in amount to union dues.”
Keep in mind that the plaintiffs in this case can, and Friedrichs did,  opt out of paying full dues (non Badass Teachers Association: