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If you are a teacher in Connecticut, you probably belong to either the National Education Association (NEA) or the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and pay in excess of $850.00 per year in union dues. What you may not know is that in the 2018 case Janus vs AFSCME, the Supreme Court ruled that teachers and other school employees cannot be required to pay union fees as a condition of working in public service.
Contrary to union propaganda, this means that teachers are no longer obligated to join a union or remain in one if they already belong. If teachers opt to withdraw from their union, the will not have to pay any union dues or fees and will still be covered by the terms of the union contract. In fact, unions are still obligated to represent teachers who withdraw from their union in all contractual matters, including grievances.
The news gets better; there are two major national, nonpolitical associations that teachers can join which offer superior benefits to either the NEA or the AFT for far less money. The (AAE) Association of American Educators (www.aaeteachers.org) has annual dues of $198.00 and the (EEAI) Christian Educators Association International (www.ceai.org) has annual dues of $239.00, and both memberships include $2,000,000 in liability insurance vs $1,000,000 for either the NEA or AFT.
Both the NEA and AFT selfishly reject school choice, school vouchers and charter schools. They both support Black Lives Matter, the Paris Climate Accords, illegal immigration, transgender participation in sports based on their gender preference, and preach systemic and institutional racism.
In Connecticut, teachers may only opt out of their teacher’s union during the month of August. I urge all Connecticut teachers to exercise this option and switch to one of the above alternative educator associations.
Dave Holman
Guilford, CT