Another Michigan court has upheld the right of teachers to leave their unions despite the unions' attempts at erecting obstacles, further enhancing the state’s right-to-work law.

Ron Robinson, a teacher in Ann Arbor, filed the complaint with the help of the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation in 2016 after his local union ignored his resignation request. He notified the Michigan Education Association in writing in August, as requested by the union — during an “opt out window” which has since been deemed illegal by another court. But the MEA refused to accept Robinson’s resignation, claiming it violated the local contract with the school district.

“This is another victory for Mr. Robinson and Ann Arbor teachers,” said Derk Wilcox, senior attorney for the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation. “But it also shows unions nationwide that groups like the Mackinac Center will use the courts to protect the rights of teachers and other employees who exercise their freedoms under state law and the Supreme Court's Janus decision.”

Robinson is a 25-year veteran of Ann Arbor schools. He chose to opt out of the union because he believes it fails to negotiate higher pay and benefits for members, protects bad teachers and is slow to respond to member grievances. He feared that despite opting out properly, the union would continue charging him dues and even retaliate by turning him over to a collections agency.

“The MEA paid its collection agency over $152,500 last year,” Robinson said. “How many teachers’ credit scores have they destroyed?”

The case was first filed in 2016 and an administrative law judge sided with Robinson. The MEA appealed to a state commission, which also ruled in favor of Robinson. The union continued investing in the case and appealed yet again to a higher court to try and force Robinson to pay up, but the Court of Appeals denied the union once more.

This is just the latest victory for the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation fighting on behalf of public employees against government unions. The Foundation has previously fought and won cases against an 10-year-long contract meant to subvert Michigan's right-to-work law, special “opt out windows” that restrict employees' rights and another case that confirmed that right-to-work applies to state civil service employees.

More information about Rich Robinson’s case, including the complaint and previous decisions, can be found at www.mackinac.org/ROBINSON-MEA.

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