Dear AAUP Member:

Today the Supreme Court rejected attempts by anti-union forces to render agency fee unconstitutional in the public sector in the case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. The Court upheld an appellate court decision that found agency fee constitutional, stating in full, “The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court.” Thus, the law remains as it has for over forty years. This is good news for AAUP unions and for our brothers and sisters throughout working America.

However, the attacks on agency fee and collective bargaining are far from over. Efforts to eliminate agency fee and otherwise weaken unions are multiplying at the state level and more challenges may be heard by the Supreme Court.

As always, our best preparation for these challenges is to build a strong union with an active, mobilized membership. We’re proud of the organizing work we have all done this year and look forward to continuing to build the kind of strong, active membership that enables our union to win strong contracts, represent our members, and assure the future of higher education.

See more information about the Friedrichs case and the AAUP’s legal work on this issue at http://www.aaup.org/friedrichs.

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