Polk County, TN (October 3, 2011) \u2013 With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a Tennessee public school teacher has won a full refund of union dues from the Polk County Education Association (PCEA), Tennessee Education Association (TEA), and National Education Association (NEA) unions. The settlement results from a 2003 complaint filed in state court by Dewey Esquinance, who wished to become a member of the PCEA to participate in negotiations over his wages and working conditions without supporting the union\u2019s political activities.<\/p>\n
After a Polk County Circuit Court dismissed the case in 2004, the Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed that ruling and remanded the case back to the circuit court for further deliberations. Rather than go to trial, union lawyers later offered Esquinance a full dues refund, plus interest. <\/p>\n
When the original complaint was filed, nonunion teachers at unionized schools were not permitted to vote on contracts between the union and their employer and therefore had no say over their wages and working conditions. After Esquinance joined the PCEA, however, he learned that most union members\u2019 dues were funneled to the TEA and the NEA, the union\u2019s state and national affiliates. These dues were then used to support a variety of political causes Esquinance found objectionable, including financial contributions to the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Organization for Women. <\/p>\n
Last summer, Tennessee state law was amended to abolish monopoly union bargaining for public school teachers, which prevented nonunion educators from having a voice at their workplace. As a result, Esquinance and other teachers like him no longer have to join a union to participate in negotiations over their wages and working conditions. <\/p>\n
Despite these reforms, Esquinance continued to pursue his lawsuit against the PCEA and the TEA to recover the dues union officials had spent on political activities he found objectionable. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re happy to report that Dewey Esquinance\u2019s dues will finally be returned to their rightful owner,\u201d said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. \u201cNonunion teachers shouldn\u2019t have to join a union or financially support controversial political activism just to have a say in their workplace, which is why this settlement is a victory for Tennessee educators.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Polk County, TN (October 3, 2011) \u2013 With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, a Tennessee public school teacher has won a full refund of union dues from the Polk County Education Association (PCEA), Tennessee Education Association (TEA), and National Education Association (NEA) unions. The settlement results from a 2003 complaint filed in state court by Dewey Esquinance, who wished to become a member of the PCEA to participate in negotiations over his wages and working conditions without supporting the union\u2019s political activities.<\/p>\n
After a Polk County Circuit Court dismissed the case in 2004, the Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed that ruling and remanded the case back to the circuit court for further deliberations. Rather than go to trial, union lawyers later offered Esquinance a full dues refund, plus interest. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[888],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n