Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/669580
Quotes & Numbers Friedrichs v. CTA: Momentous Victory Compiled by MIKE MYSLINSKI E D U C A T I O N A N D L A B O R leaders celebrated the March 29 ruling by a split U.S. Supreme Court that effectively dismissed the Friedrichs v. CTA lawsuit, an attempt to ban Fair Share fees and undermine public employee unions. The suit was part of a coordinated effort by conservative groups to weaken labor rights and silence the voices of public employees nationwide. Fair Share fees are related to bargaining costs, not politics, and are necessary because unions have a legal duty to represent all educators, even nonmembers. Here are some reactions and related numbers. "This decision is a victory for educators and all public employees, but most importantly a victory for the millions of students of California and across the U.S. By having the ability to join together to make our voices heard on issues that affect all of us such as quality, safe and healthy schools for our kids, we ensure that our public schools remain strong and our students get the quality public education they need and deserve." — CTA President ERIC HEINS, in a March 29 EdSource story about the Friedrichs ruling. "In Friedrichs, the court saw through the political attacks on the workplace rights of teachers, educators and other public employees. is decision recognizes that stripping public employees of their voices in the workplace is not what our country needs." — LILY ESKELSEN GARCÍA, president of the National Education Association, in a March 29 Washington Post article. "I really think it was an effort to silence the collective voice of educators and, beyond educators, other unions as well." — United Educators of San Francisco Executive Vice President SUSAN SOLOMON, in a March 29 interview by KGO-TV (ABC) in San Francisco. "I think that unions are incredibly important for public education. What Friedrichs is trying to do is basically destroy our unions and prevent our ability to advocate on behalf of our kids." — LYNN FORMIGLI, sixth-grade teacher at Cabrillo Middle School in Santa Clara Unified, quoted in the March 29 San Jose Mercury News. "Unions will continue the important work of organizing and mobilizing to beat back these attacks while aggressively pursuing real, lasting gains for workers that open up a path to the American Dream for everyone." — ART PULASKI, executive secretary-treasurer of California Labor Federation, which represents 2.1 million workers, in a statement praising the court's ruling. 5 million Number of unionized public sector work- ers in 23 states and Washington, D.C., where Fair Share fees are still allowed today, thanks to the Friedrichs ruling, according to the Associated Press. 9 Number of words in the one-sentence ruling that ended the Friedrichs appeal: "The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court." 1977 Year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, that Fair Share fees related to collective bargaining could be collected from non- members, but not for a union's political activities. The defeat of the Friedrichs law- suit leaves the Abood decision intact. 73 Number of civil rights organizations that signed an amicus (friend of the court) brief in the Friedrichs case, arguing: "Abood's Fair Share rule has yielded critical economic opportunities for all workers," and "Unions provide a critical path to the middle class." The brief was one of 24 amicus briefs backing CTA. 28 Troublesome anti-union legal cases currently in the nation's state and federal court pipelines, which are being watched by CTA and NEA, including eight that seek to ban Fair Share fees, as Friedrichs attempted to do. 13 April 2016 e Numbers