Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/619098
UR SCHOOLS AND OUR STUDENTS WHAT IS FAIR SHARE? Fair Share fees are the cost of union representation and bargaining. No one is forced to join a union, but unions are legally required to represent all workers. Teachers and other public employees who don't want to belong to a union only have to contribute to the costs of representation they receive. Since all workers enjoy the benefits, job security and other protections the union negotiates, it is only fair that all contribute to the cost of securing those benefits and protections. It's not fair for some to pay more for the benefits all workers enjoy. The current Fair Share system is a good compromise and common sense. In states where Fair Share has been banned, workers are worse off. If the Supreme Court bans Fair Share, it will make it harder for teachers, firefighters, and nurses to stand together to fight for our students and schools, and to negotiate for wages and benefits. ROBERT REICH Professor of public policy and former U.S. Secretary of Labor '' U S U N U M THE FACTS NO ONE IS REQUIRED TO JOIN A UNION, AND NO ONE IS REQUIRED TO PAY ANY FEES THAT GO TO POLITICS OR POLITICAL CANDIDATES BY LAW, UNIONS MUST REPRESENT AND BARGAIN FOR EVERY WORKER, WHETHER THEY JOIN THE UNION OR NOT. but 25 Number of states with "right to work" laws (more accurately termed "right to work for less") that deprive workers of bargaining power Average amount less that workers in right-to-work states make compared to workers in states that allow Fair Share fees The decline of union membership has mirrored almost exactly the decline of the middle class. Strong unions mean a strong middle class, which means a strong economy. $5,971 37 December 2015 / January 2016