Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
5 Teachers Sue California Union Over Forced Dues Collection
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
March 12, 2019

Share

SAN FRANCISCO — Five California educators on Monday filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the state’s top teachers union from collecting dues through mandatory paycheck deductions, the latest in a series of similar legal challenges filed across the country.

The lawsuit challenging the California Teachers Association’s mandatory collection of dues follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on June 27 barring the practice in the public sector.

“These dues are a negative financial impact to a lot of teachers who live in the Bay Area where there is a high cost of living.” — Bethany Mendez, one of the plaintiffs and a special education teacher at the Fremont Unified School District

“These dues are a negative financial impact to a lot of teachers who live in the Bay Area where there is a high cost of living,” said Bethany Mendez, one of the plaintiffs and a special education teacher at the Fremont Unified School District. Mendez said she pays $1,500 per year in union dues.

The teachers are represented by San Francisco lawyer Harmeet Dhillon and the Freedom Foundation, an Olympia, Washington-based politically conservative think tank. The Freedom Foundation has represented teachers suing unions in several states.

About 70 percent of the nation’s 3.8 million public school teachers belong to a union, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Teacher unions across the country have been bracing for litigation since the high court ruled 5-4 that requiring dues payments forces public sector workers to endorse political messages that they may be counter to their beliefs.

“This is just another lawsuit from the Freedom Foundation to continue the attack on public education and public employees,” California Teacher Association spokeswoman Claudia Briggs said.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

DON'T MISS

Israeli Settlers Raid West Bank Town, Troops Kill 3 Palestinians

DON'T MISS

West Nile Virus Detected in Mosquitoes in Fresno County

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Netanyahu’s Trial Should Be Canceled

DON'T MISS

St. Agnes’ New Chief Medical Officer Is a Kidney Care Expert

DON'T MISS

US Military to Create Two New Border Zones, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

Trump Signals US May Ease Iran Oil Sanction Enforcement to Help Rebuild Country

DON'T MISS

CIA Says Intelligence Indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program Severely Damaged

DON'T MISS

Upscale Woodward Park Area Apartments Sell for $19 Million

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Learn the Latest on the Caleb Quick Murder Hearings

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Orders CA to Strip Trans Athlete of Medals

UP NEXT

SoCal Vice Mayor Urges Street Gang ‘Cholos’ to Rise Up Against ICE

UP NEXT

How a Birthday Boat Ride on Lake Tahoe Turned Tragic

UP NEXT

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

UP NEXT

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

UP NEXT

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

UP NEXT

Poll: Most Californians Prefer Lower Taxes and Fewer Services, Skeptical of Gov’t Spending

UP NEXT

Clovis Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison in Deadly Fentanyl Case

UP NEXT

Victims Identified as Death Toll Climbs to 8 in Lake Tahoe Boating Tragedy

UP NEXT

Dying Honey Bees Threaten CA Economy. Can Central Valley Lawmakers Save Them?

Trump Administration Has ‘No Imminent Plans’ to Refill Nation’s Emergency Oil Reserve

55 minutes ago

Why Is Usually Sleepy Fresno County Schools Superintendent Race Suddenly Hot?

1 hour ago

Tulare County Authorities Seek Leads After Armed Robbery in Earlimart

1 hour ago

US Justice Department to Probe Hiring Practices at University of California

2 hours ago

White House Wants Major Cut in US War Crimes, Accountability Funding, Sources Say

2 hours ago

No Known Intelligence That Iran Moved Uranium, US Defense Chief Says

2 hours ago

What Does the Fresno County Schools Superintendent Do? Read This Q&A to Find Out

2 hours ago

Israel Says Iran’s Supreme Leader Avoided Assassination by Going Underground

2 hours ago

Much of LA’s Community of Immigrants Is Hiding, Leaving a Hole in the Fabric of the City

2 hours ago

US Supreme Court to Issue Term’s Final Rulings on Friday

3 hours ago

Feds Charge Bullard High Teacher With Child Porn, Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

A federal grand jury Thursday charged a former Bullard High photography teacher with sexual exploitation of a child, receipt of child sexual...

3 minutes ago

3 minutes ago

Feds Charge Bullard High Teacher With Child Porn, Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

New data shows Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election not because of low turnout, but because millions of young, nonwhite, and irregular voters either stayed home or shifted their support to Donald Trump. (Shutterstock)
4 minutes ago

New Data Clarifies a Lingering Question on 2024 Turnout

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the start of a NATO leaders summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. (Reuters File)
35 minutes ago

US Announces New Fentanyl-Related Visa Restriction Policy

A boat sails along the Brazos Harbor in Freeport, Texas, U.S., June 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
55 minutes ago

Trump Administration Has ‘No Imminent Plans’ to Refill Nation’s Emergency Oil Reserve

1 hour ago

Why Is Usually Sleepy Fresno County Schools Superintendent Race Suddenly Hot?

Two armed suspects robbed customers and a clerk at a gas station in Earlimart Wednesday, June 25, 2025, night before fleeing in a blue vehicle. (Tulare County SO)
1 hour ago

Tulare County Authorities Seek Leads After Armed Robbery in Earlimart

2 hours ago

US Justice Department to Probe Hiring Practices at University of California

A view of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/File Photo
2 hours ago

White House Wants Major Cut in US War Crimes, Accountability Funding, Sources Say

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend