Right to Work Foundation attorneys represent reformer seeking to notify teachers of their right to stop paying for partisan union politics and lobbying

Pittsburgh, PA (April 5, 2016) – Today, before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, veteran National Right to Work Foundation staff Attorney W. James Young defended an education activist’s right, under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law, to inform public school teachers about their legal rights relating to union membership.

The case, Pennsylvania State Education Association et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania et al., is being heard on appeal from the Commonwealth Court. In February 2015, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court effectively ended teacher unions’ stranglehold over public school teachers’ access to information about their workplace rights by affirming an education activist’s request to access the contact information of teachers across the state.

National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys appeared in the case for Simon Campbell, president of Pennsylvanians for Union Reform, who sought the information to inform educators of their rights to refrain from union membership and opt out of paying dues for union politics.

In its 5-2 decision, the Commonwealth Court ruled that Campbell was entitled to public school teachers’ contact information under the state’s Right-to-Know law so long as the teachers were informed of his request and allowed to object to the release of that information. The Pennsylvania State Education Association appealed that decision to the state’s Supreme Court.

In 2009, Campbell and Pennsylvanians for Union Reform submitted a request with the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records for the contact information of over 200,000 Pennsylvania educators. Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) union lawyers responded by filing a lawsuit against the Office of Open Records to block the release of that information.

Although Pennsylvania teachers can be forced to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment, they cannot be required to accept full union membership or pay fees for anything unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as union political activism.

Unfortunately, union officials frequently seek to limit teachers’ access to information about their rights to refrain from union activities and to opt out of paying full union fees.

“Today’s argument asks the court to decide if union officials should be granted a monopoly over teachers’ personal information and thus prevent Pennsylvanian educators from learning about their workplace rights,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Informing teachers of their rights to refrain from union membership and subsidizing union politics is absolutely necessary to counter union bosses’ campaigns of misinformation. I applaud Mr. Campbell’s efforts, and the National Right to Work Foundation is pleased to help him in this fight.”

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.