Concerned Educators Against Forced Unionism (CEAFU) will host their annual online conference at noon eastern this coming Saturday, January 6.
They will discuss the latest on the Janus case, and its implications for teachers. The Janus case could be a very influential decision for the nation. More information, including legal briefs in the case, can be found at www.nrtw.org/janus. The oral argument date in Janus has been set for Monday, 2/26, which is a week later than expected.
Matthew Brouillette is president and CEO of Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs pointed out in a recent editorial that Taxpayer resources – not only at the state level but at school district levels – are regularly used to collect campaign contributions and funnel them to a select group of organizations that, not coincidentally, are among the largest bankrollers of political campaigns in the state. He added “And it’s no secret. The public has known it for years.” Brouillette also pointed out that “ending the use of public resources for unions’ political fundraising would in no way prevent public employees from engaging in politics or limit their ability to do so. They would just have to do so like everyone else, without taxpayer participation. Yet government union leaders have misrepresented these facts in their frantic quest to ensure they can continue using public resources for political purposes.”
The Janus case National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix issued the following statement:
With the Supreme Court agreeing to hear the Janus case, we are now one step closer to freeing over 5 million public sector teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other employees from the injustice of being forced to subsidize a union as a condition of working for their own government.
As the Court noted in the National Right to Work Foundation’s landmark Knox v. SEIU victory, compelled speech under the guise of forced union dues is an ‘anomaly’ under the First Amendment. We are hopeful that by the end of this Supreme Court term, the High Court will finally end this anomaly and fully protect the First Amendment rights of public sector workers against an injustice that has existed for over half a century.
Jacob Huebert, director of litigation at the Liberty Justice Center, issued the following statement:
We are pleased the Supreme Court has agreed to take up this case and revisit a 40-year-old precedent that has allowed governments to violate the First Amendment rights of millions of workers. People shouldn’t be forced to surrender their First Amendment right to decide for themselves what organizations they support just because they decide to work for the state, their local government or a public school.
They will also be providing a look at Right to Work legislation efforts, what you can expect in the coming year and very useful information. Ben Johnson, a former AFL-CIO and American Federation of Teachers union president will discuss “insider” tricks and strategies of teacher unions, and his reasons for supporting Mark Janus, as well as answer questions.
Click here for registration information for the online conference.
