How MEA Members Can Obtain a Dues Refund

Until the MEA changes to become more of a professional teachers association, teachers may not want to join or financially support the union.

Although few teachers know it, and even fewer collective bargaining agreements mention it, a teacher cannot be required to join a union or pay dues that are used for any non-collective bargaining activity, such as politics or "image building." The only obligation that teachers have to the union under a union security clause is to pay that portion of the dues that is related to union representation. By tendering such dues, neither the union nor the school administration may discriminate against the teacher in any way relating to his or her employment. This includes work assignments, working conditions, and participation in committees or other activities.

A teacher who exercises this constitutional right to refrain from joining the union is entitled to a refund of any dues spent on political or ideological causes. The U.S. Supreme Court held in Chicago Teachers Union v Hudson that certain procedural steps must be taken by the union in order to justify levying dues onto nonmembers:

• member must be given an accounting of the union’s basis for calculating the representation fee;

• The dissenter’s representation fee must be placed in an interest-bearing escrow account unless a CPA has verified the expenses;

• If the fee schedule is verified by a CPA, the union may elect to escrow only that portion of expenditures which an objector could reasonably challenge and retain the remainder; and,

• The procedure must provide for a "reasonably prompt decision by an impartial decisionmaker" to confirm the nature of the challenged union expenditures and guarantee that the dues have been used for permissible purposes.

By becoming a nonmember of the union, the right to participate in internal union affairs—such as voting in union elections or running for union office—and some benefits offered by the union to their members (credit union membership, teacher liability insurance, etc.) may be sacrificed. However, the union must still represent the nonmember without discrimination, and all employment benefits negotiated by the union must include the nonmember.

To exercise the right to a dues rebate, a letter should be sent to the union giving notice that the teacher wishes to exercise his or her right to become a nonmember. The union must also be notified that the teacher wishes to exercise all the rights of a nonmember to a full accounting of dues and a refund of any dues not allocated in furtherance of collective bargaining within the immediate unit. A sample letter is provided below.

If you are a public school employee, please feel free to contact the Mackinac Center for Public Policy at (989) 631-0900 if you have any questions regarding your legal rights or the process of exercising them.