A teacher in the Plainville Community School District in Connecticut successfully exercised her First Amendment right to stop financial support for the activities of the Connecticut Education Association (CEA).
Christina Corvello invoked her rights under the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME to end payment of dues to CEA despite union officials’ efforts to restrict her right to an “escape period,” i.e., a limited number of days several months in the future.
With the assistance of free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation (NRTW), the foundation announced Monday Corvello was able to opt out of dues payment before the “escape period.”
An unconstitutional "escape period" policy blocked Christina Corvello from cutting off union dues and leaving the Connecticut Education Association teachers union. After 5 months, union officials backed down and let Corvello exercise her Janus rights.https://t.co/CzaGPRqxLE
— National Right To Work Foundation (@RightToWork) April 4, 2022
In the NRTW Foundation-won Janus case in 2018, the justices “recognized that no public worker can be forced to pay union dues as a condition of getting or keeping a job,” NRTW stated.
“The High Court in Janus also ruled it a First Amendment violation to seize dues from a public employee’s paycheck without his or her affirmative consent,” the foundation added.
According to the press announcement, Corvello became dissatisfied with CEA policies, including those related to COVID-19 mandates promoted by union officials which, she said, negatively affected both students and teachers.
NRTW noted:
When Corvello tried to raise concerns regarding these issues, union officials disregarded her and treated her with disrespect. After union officials ignored her pleas for support and change, Corvello decided to end her union membership and terminate dues deductions.
In November 2021, Corvello began to receive guidance from NRTW Foundation attorneys, and informed both union and school officials that she wished to leave the union and end dues deductions from her paychecks in accord with Janus.
“But the CEA denied her requests to stop funding the union,” NRTW noted. “CEA bosses stated that she could only stop payments yearly during August. Corvello, however, remained undeterred. She continued to ask the union to stop taking her money.”
CEA officials finally backed down in March, however, and Corvello’s dues deductions ended.
NRTW Foundation President Mark Mix in a statement:
Even after Janus, public sector union officials routinely trample the First Amendment rights of workers they claim to ‘represent’ in order to fill their coffers with coerced union dues and fees. Such malfeasance often includes limiting these rights to a phony, narrow ‘escape period,’ not informing workers of when they are waiving Janus rights, and not even telling workers that they have these rights in the first place.
“American public sector workers should know that they can’t be forced to subsidize or associate with a union of which they disapprove,” Mix added. “The National Right to Work Foundation is proud to serve as a resource for information on workers’ rights and to provide free legal representation to workers when union officials refuse to comply with Janus.”
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Susan Berry, PhD, is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
