Indiana unions sue over yearly hurdle on teacher union dues
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Three Indiana teachers unions have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block a new state law that would require educators to renew requests every year for automatic paycheck deductions of union dues.
Unions representing teachers with the Anderson, Avon and Martinsville school districts and the teachers who lead them filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis. It contends the law, which is scheduled to take effect in July, unfairly targets teachers and makes it harder for their unions to collect dues.
The law creates a new process for the collection of teachers union dues and requires teachers to annually complete a three-step process to have union dues deducted from their paychecks, The Indianapolis Star reported.
Jeff Macey, the attorney representing the teachers and their unions, said no other unions or organization that allows for wage deductions is required to follow the same process. He said the law violates teachers' constitutional rights.
“Why are teachers being singled out for these onerous restrictions?” Macey asked. “No other union, no other charity, no other organization in the state has to do this to assign a portion of your wages to (them).”
The teachers and their unions are seeking a preliminary injunction to block the law from taking effect July 1. If the law does take effect, the complaint says it will impair existing agreements between some unions and their dues-paying members to deduct dues after July 1.
Suzy Lebo, president of the Avon Federation of Teachers, sees the new law as punishment for teachers' activism in recent years, including a November 2019 rally where thousands of teachers surrounded the Indiana Statehouse to demand higher pay and better working conditions.
“It’s a stunt by the Indiana...