Teachers’ rights and their unions

David W. Kirkpatrick writing at EducationNews.org: “In its Beck decision in 1988, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that workers can only be required to pay dues or fees for costs directly related to collective bargaining. The decision awarded a dues reduction of 79 percent to Harry Beck, who had been an active union member and who launched the appeal. It shouldn’t surprise you that neither unions, including teacher unions, nor government agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board, make any effort to notify workers, including teachers, of this right. A telling example of pro-union bias where neutrality should be expected was demonstrated by, of all positions, President Clinton’s Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, who has been quoted as saying, ‘In order to maintain themselves, unions have got to have some ability to strap their members to the mast.’”