Pennsylvania Teachers Fight to End Fair Share Fees

Case Summary

• Greg Hartnett, a teacher from Indiana County, Pennsylvania, disagreed with how his union handled contract negotiations. Greg expressed his concerns and was ignored by union officials, so he sought to stop paying the teachers’ union.
• However, prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, teachers like Greg could be required to pay unions so-called “fair share” fees, even if they were not union members.
• Greg believed this violated his First Amendment rights—and he wasn’t alone. Three other teachers, Elizabeth Galaska, John Cress, and Robert Brough, Jr., also felt that their fair share fees were unconstitutional.

Teachers File Lawsuit to End ‘Fair Share’ Fees

In January of 2017, the Fairness Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of Greg and the other teachers to stop fair share fees. The teachers argued that compulsory union fees assessed to nonmembers violate their constitutional rights of free speech and association. They also argued that teachers and other public employees shouldn’t have to pay for the activity and representation of a union they do not support.

In June 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania dismissed the case, citing precedent. Instead of appealing, the case was stayed in October of 2017, pending the outcome of Janus v. AFSCME. The U.S. Supreme Court handed down their decision in Janus in June 2018, making it illegal to force nonmember public employees to pay union fees as a condition of employment. Despite this ruling, Greg’s fight wasn’t over.

(Elizabeth “Bitsy” Galaska, one of the plaintiffs in Hartnett v. PSEA. Photo credit: The Fairness Center.)

Court Requires Union to Abide by Janus

Fair share fee statutes still existed in the contract between the PSEA and Greg’s school district. In September 2018, the Fairness Center filed a motion for summary judgement, asking the court to make the union remove all fair share fee language.

In May 2019, the Pennsylvania Middle District Court denied our client’s request for summary judgment and dismissed the case due to lack of jurisdiction.

On appeal, the Third Circuit Court upheld the lower court’s decision in June 2020 while reinforcing the union’s requirement to comply with the Janus ruling.

Case Status & Documents

• Amended Complaint
  November 9, 2017
• Motion for Summary Judgement
  September 14, 2018
• P.A. Middle District Court Final Order
  May 17, 2019
• Notice of Appeal to the Third Circuit
  June 2019

Hartnett v. PSEA is closed.