Teachers Denied the Right to Represent Themselves

Last week the Bethlehem Area School District approved a new labor contract that will force all teachers—even those who do not want the union’s services—to pay the organization hundreds of dollars each year. Shortly after the vote, the Lehigh Valley Times editorial page argued that these so-called “fair share fees” are a good compromise. I responded with a letter arguing that teachers should have the freedom to decide who negotiates their salary.

The Jan. 30 editorial, “Fair share fees allow non-union teacher to have their cake and protest it, too,” misses the fact that the Bethlehem Area Education Association’s new obligation to represent non-union members such as Richard Coppock was not imposed on the union — they actively negotiated for it. In other words, the district just allowed the union — and its related state and national affiliates — to confiscate Coppock’s right to represent himself.

It’s absurd that this power-grab is being twisted around to accuse Coppock of “free-riding.” Coppock doesn’t want something for nothing, he wants the ability to refuse all union benefits. Coppock’s rights should not be sacrificed simply because he was in the minority.

The editorial goes on to say Coppock has the option to become a religious objector and, “donate the fee to a non-religious charity of their choosing.” But the law actually says the charity must be “agreed upon by the nonmember and the [union].” The difference is more than semantics: Two Pennsylvania teachers are in the midst of lawsuit because the state teachers union has refused to allow their money to go to the non-religious charity of their choice.

Teachers must know their rights. FreetoTeach.org, a project of the Commonwealth Foundation where I work, offers clear and concise resources to let teachers make their own decisions — a principle that the teachers’ unions apparently ignore.