Pennsylvania Teachers’ Unions Get Schooled in the First Amendment

Originally published at National Review

In a landmark First Amendment ruling delivered in 2018, the Supreme Court held in Janus v. AFSCME that public-sector unions could not collect so-called fair-share fees from workers who did not want to become members. The decision restored the free-speech rights of millions living in states without right-to-work laws.

As consequential as Janus was, though, its effects have not been immediate. In some more-unionized states, legislatures have not updated their obsolete labor provisions, which has led some workers — unaware of their rights — to be coerced into paying union fees that often subsidize political activism.

For this reason, teachers who challenged union practices prior to the high court ruling have continued to press their case in court as part of their effort to strike down those provisions of state law that are now unconstitutional. Jane Ladley, a 25-year veteran public-school teacher in Pennsylvania, has led the charge.

Read more at National Review