Mackinac Video Featured in The Washington Post

A Mackinac Center video profiling California teacher Rebecca Friedrichs and her fight to free herself from forced unionism was featured this week by The Washington Post in its coverage of the Supreme Court’s 4-4 decision on the case.

Because her state does not provide right-to-work protections, Friedrichs must pay dues to the California Teachers Association as a condition of her employment. In the video, posted under the headline “California teachers explain their Supreme Court case,” Friedrichs explains why being forced to pay dues to a union violates her First Amendment rights:

People like myself, who are agency fee payers, pay 100 percent of the collective bargaining fees. However, we do not get to vote within collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is just as political as anything else the union does because when you go to elected officials and you bargain for the use of taxpayer funds, that’s political.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a split decision in the case that would have protected public employees in non-right-to-work states from being fired for not paying union dues. Mackinac Center’s F. Vincent Vernuccio explained the impact of decision in a recent blog, noting that the fight for employee freedom is far from over:

Still, attorneys for the plaintiffs are undaunted. Center for Individual Rights President Terry Pell released a statement after the decision, saying, "We believe this case is too significant to let a split decision stand and we will file a petition for rehearing with the Supreme Court." Rebecca Friedrichs echoed this sentiment, telling reporters, "All of us plaintiffs have been in the classroom for a very long time, so we’re very patient people, and we are definitely in this for the long haul. Today’s decision isn’t the end of the case, and in our view, it simply just delays the final outcome."

Watch the entire Friedrichs video at The Washington Post and read Vernuccio’s full analysis on the case here.

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