Teachers sue PSEA over refusal to give 'fair share' payments to their chosen causes
James Williams no longer belongs to a union, but he may join the debate over how the state's largest teachers' union spends his money.
Williams, 55, lives in Wilmington, Lawrence County, but drives 10 miles across the border into Mercer County to teach science at West MiddlesexJr./Sr. High School.
He left his district's union this year when he learned about a lawsuit filed by two Pennsylvania teachers who, like he does, oppose the liberal causes and political candidates on which the Pennsylvania State Education Association spent money.
A 1988 state law allows teachers' unions to require those who opt out of the union to pay a “fair share” payment in lieu of membership dues to compensate the union for the collective bargaining benefit the non-member receives. If someone opts out based on religious grounds, the money is donated to a nonreligious charity agreed upon by both sides.
The teachers sued the PSEA in September when the union refused to remit their money to charities they chose.
“I had been thinking about it for a while but I pulled the trigger when I saw that lawsuit,” Williams said. “The union has an agenda, which I vehemently oppose. They've consistently not done what I think they should be doing.”
The lawsuit filed by Chester County teacher Chris Meier and Armstrong County teacher Jane Ladley is the latest battle over the handling of millions of dollars in union dues typically deducted from paychecks of public workers.
In these cases, PSEA objected to the chosen charities, which were linked to politically conservative groups or causes.
Lawyer David Osborne of The Fairness Center, representing Meier and Ladley, said the union based its decisions on “made-up reasons” that “change from day to day.”
The Fairness Center is a nonprofit law firm that offers free legal services to people fighting unions. The chairman of its trustees is Matt Brouillette, president and CEO of the conservative Commonwealth Foundation in Harrisburg.
Osborne said the PSEA “gave arbitrary, ad hoc rationalizations for why they didn't want money going to the charities they had selected.”
PSEA said in a statement that it provides reasonable accommodations to objectors, and provided the Tribune-Review with a list of nearly 200 “acceptable” charities. They include the American Cancer Society, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
PSEA spokesman Wythe Keever said the list could include other charities.
The union objected to the lawsuit in October, seeking its dismissal.
Lancaster County Common Pleas Judge James P. Cullen in June allowed the suit to go forward, saying that although the law requires the union and non-member to agree on a charity, it doesn't provide a way to settle disputes.
The case could set a precedent for what's “reasonable” when the parties disagree.
In a similar lawsuit, Linda Misja of Bellefonte sued PSEA in federal court in June because the union has held her dues in escrow for three years.
Misja, who has worked in the Apollo-Ridge School District since 2014 and worked in the Bellefonte Area School District, wanted her fees to go to People Concerned for the Unborn Child, a nonprofit, pro-life organization that helps pregnant teens. PSEA rejected her choice because it is a religious group, court filings show. The union rejected Misja's second choice, the National Rifle Association Foundation, because of its political ties.
Williams said he plans to ask that his fee go to Several Sources Shelters, a New Jersey-based nonprofit that encourages adoption over abortion and provides shelter for homeless and sick women. That charity is not on the list provided by PSEA.
Williams said he “can't imagine why” PSEA would object to his choice. “They use all their money for the care or women and babies,” he said.
Osborne acknowledges the lawsuits may become moot if the Supreme Court overturns a 1977 law that permits mandatory union fees in 25 states, including Pennsylvania. The high court plans to hear arguments in the case in December or January.
Osborne, who also represents Misja, said he plans to forge ahead with the lawsuits because of uncertainty over what the Supreme Court will decide. He has until Monday to file an amended complaint in the Lancaster case.
Adam Brandolph is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach him at 412-391-0927 or abrandolph@tribweb.com.
