Greg Hartnett chose not to be a member of the teachers union. Yet the law allows unions to require nonmembers to pay fees regardless of whether they want representation. Collective bargaining is inherently political, and compelling nonmembers to pay to a union that they've chosen not to join violates protections of the First Amendment. 

Teachers are paid to teach. But some unions take teachers from the classroom to do full-time union work. Many of these “ghost teachers”—who remain on district payroll—have worked full-time for the union for decades. 

Teacher Linda Misja has never been a member of the Pennsylvania State Education Assoc. and she has never paid a fee for its representation—which she does not want. Linda is a religious objector to the union which means that her fee to the union can instead go to a nonreligious charity. Except that the PSEA won't let Linda decide where her money can go.

Local 825 firefighters voted to leave the statewide union in 2016. The union recognized Local 825’s decision but continued to bill monthly "dues." Now, a collections agency is calling Local 825’s leadership and their family members in an effort to collect over $50,000 in alleged "back dues."

David Smith, homebound with muscular dystrophy, has relied on Don Lambrecht as his homecare worker for 25 years. An executive order from Gov. Wolf would let unions collect $8 million annually in dues from homecare workers by forcing representation on people like Don. 

If someone used your name on an election mailer to solicit votes for a candidate without your consent, you’d probably feel betrayed. But what if they sent that mailer to your spouse, lied about who you were voting for, and made you pay for it all—violating state law in the process?

Michael Cronin became a graduate assistant at Penn State to further his education and believes that a union would interfere with that opportunity. If the union wins its election, it will become the “exclusive representative” for Michael and every other graduate assistant—even those who voted against the union or neglected to vote. 

As religious objectors to union membership, teachers Jane Ladley, Chris Meier, and Linda Misja can send their money, otherwise “owed” the union, to charity. But the state’s largest teachers’ union rejected their chosen charities and is holding their money in escrow.

On June 27, 2018, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision that affects the rights of public-sector employees across the country. The decision, Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31, involved a public employee, Mark Janus, who declined to join a union but was nevertheless required under a union contract to pay union fees. For years, these compulsory union fees were considered legal.

Since 2011, the president of the Reading Education Association teachers union cost Reading taxpayers more than $580,000, even while working exclusively for the union. On top of receiving a generous salary, the REA President accrued seniority as if he were still teaching in the classroom, as well as pension credits. 

Mary Ann Dailey is an Associate Professor of nursing with more than 25 years of teaching experience. Mary Ann is also a member of the public sector union APSCUF.  Professor Dailey challenged APSCUF’s practice of manipulating dues and creating a deceptive fundraising program in an effort to further fund union political work.

In Philadelphia, teachers on leave from the classroom are used to staff public-sector union offices, to lobby for unions’ political causes and candidates, and to promote union membership at the workplace. The Fairness Center filed suit to expose Philadelphia’s union leave practices and to have this CBA provision declared illegal under state law.

The Fairness Center represented School Reform Commission (SRC) member and former Democratic City Councilman Bill Green in his fight to be reinstated as rightful Chairman of the SRC. Gov. Tom Wolf illegally removed Green as Chairman of the SRC after Green’s reforms drew the ire of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.