With no Right to Work law [1] on the books, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a struggling, forced unionism state.

Ryan Mellinger is a young, full-time math teacher in a Pennsylvania public school [2] district. He never joined the union which holds monopoly bargaining privileges over the district’s teachers, but he is still required to pay the $394 annually in forced dues, or lose his job.

And all Mellinger wants is to decide on his own how he could save or spend his $394 as he sees fit. FrontPage Magazine [3] highlights:

“Pennsylvania is the state that gave birth to freedom and individual liberty, but it has turned its back on its heritage regarding compulsory union fees. Compulsory membership and fees affect not only teachers but thousands of workers throughout Pennsylvania in a variety of businesses that have union contracts. The results are an economic disaster.”

In order to highlight the impact of compulsory unionism in education in America today, the National Right to Work Foundation established a special project, Concerned Educators Against Forced Unionism (CEAFU) [4]. For over 30 years, CEAFU has helped to ensure that union officials respect the individual rights of independent educators.

Check out the CEAFU website here [5] to see the negative impact of compulsory unionism on education.