Teacher Unions, the Right to Work, and Fair Share Agreements

The status of collective bargaining in public education is in flux. As a result of a movement that began in the early 1960s, more than 30 states now have laws that allow teachers and other public school employees to form unions in order to bargain collectively with their school boards over the terms and conditions of their employment. Further, three jurisdictions prohibit public-sector unions, and in an overlapping tapestry, 23 states—most recently Indiana— have enacted right-to-work laws that bar contracts that require workers to join unions as a condition of employment. Aware that unions derive their operating revenues from member dues, the Supreme Court, consistent with provisions in the National Labor Relations Act, has upheld the constitutionality of “fair share” agreements. “Fair share” or agency fee agreements are premised on the notion that because nonmembers benefit from the activities of unions, they can be required to pay a “fair share” or percentage of union costs associated with the collective-bargaining process in their districts