A three-judge panel of the Chancery Court for the State of Tennessee Twentieth Judicial District ordered the lawsuit filed by the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) that challenged a new law that prohibits association dues deduction from paychecks “dismissed without prejudice” following the union’s voluntary dismissal.
An order entered Monday and signed by Chancellor and Chief Judge Anne C. Martin, Judge A. Blake Neill, and Chancellor Pamela A. Fleenor, in the case of Tennessee Education Association v. Bill Lee, states:
It appearing that the Plaintiffs have filed notice pursuant to Tenn. R. Civ. P. 41.01 of their voluntary dismissal of this action, It is ORDERED that this action be and is hereby dismissed without prejudice. Costs are taxed to the Plaintiffs, for which execution may issue.
In advance of the order, TEA posted to Facebook its pitch to members to “switch to EZ Pay” to pay their dues.
A new Tennessee law titled the Teacher Paycheck Protection Act, which simultaneously aimed to increase the teacher pay rate in the state to a minimum of $50,000 annually by the year 2027 as it also banned the collection of association dues via deduction from paychecks, sought to protect teachers and taxpayers from automatic deduction of union membership dues.
As The Tennessee Star reported on July 28, TEA has spent millions on political lobbying alone in the state since 2011.
In the current lawsuit, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti footnoted that union dues are spent on political activity:
Since PECCA was enacted in 2011, the Tennessee Education Association (“TEA”) has engaged in extensive political activity. Its public filings show that it has spent approximately $2,000,000-$3,500,000 in Tennessee on lobbying alone. See Smith Decl., Ex. D, TEA Political Expense Reports. And the TEA’s membership applications provide that ‘a portion of [each member’s] dues are allocated to the TEA-FCPE,’ an entity that engages in political activities, ‘including but not limited to, making contributions to and expenditures on behalf of friends of public education who are candidates for office.’ That amount does not include local or national contributions.”
“Teaching is getting tougher,” TEA noted to its members on its website. “With pop-up parent groups and new laws ready to target educators, your membership protects you now more than ever!”
The union observed to its members:
The way you’ve paid dues through payroll deduction has been banned, and to keep your TEA membership in 2023-24, you MUST convert online to EZ Pay. It is a safe, secure and easy method of paying your dues online – like your other routine bank payments such as utilities, subscriptions and car payments. EZ Pay also gives you the choice of using a credit card.
“If you do not convert to EZ Pay, you will lose out on the TEA member benefits,” the union warned. “TEA and your local association are the only organizations fighting for our profession, our students and our strong public schools.”
Prior to the case’s dismissal, the three-judge panel denied the union’s motion, stating TEA was not likely to succeed since its arguments were lacking.
“The results were predictable,” JC Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a non-partisan teacher association based in Nashville, told The Tennessee Star last week. “The court was quick to point out some of the fallacies of their arguments.”
Referring to the new law, Bowman said the salary raise his organization had “long advocated” also included the prohibition on dues collection by local school boards in the legislation.
He noted his association was “unwilling to risk the salary increases for all educators that we had long advocated because of the lack of a severability clause.”
“In addition, we have long been denied equal access to payroll deductions,” he observed. “The union was often an obstacle to that equal access. Therefore, we created our own online system where members could pay their dues conveniently and securely.”
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Susan Berry, PhD is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
Doesn’t this underscore the insignificance of this union. The only way they can survive is to force or mandate the teachers to pay dues. For the most part, this union does nothing for the good teachers, and there are many, the union spends inordinate time and resources for under performing teachers. Take away any negotiations for salary (as Wisconsin di under Governor Walker) as the union will collapse.
Even the disgusting TEA knows when it is pushing a losing cause. I just wish they would do the same for their touchy-feely garbage that they push in the classroom.