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ST. PAUL, Minn., June 30, 2015 --  Education Minnesota President Denise Specht released the following statement in response to the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the Friedrichs case, in which the plaintiffs seek to compel unions to provide representation to public employees for free.
 
“Powerful interests in this country don’t want you to hear what educators have to say about class sizes, children in poverty and growing income inequality,” Specht said. “They hope the court that delivered the Citizens United decision will cripple the finances of unions. Then only billionaires will be able to afford to bring their views to the marketplace of ideas.”
 
“This will be a fiercely argued case and no one knows how it will be decided, or when, but I can promise one thing. No matter what happens, the educators of Education Minnesota will continue to speak out for our schools, our students, our educators and the future of our state,” Specht said.
 
Education Minnesota also released a short FAQ about fair share payments and the Friedrichs case. The plaintiffs are asking the justices to decide whether it is unconstitutional to ensure that all employees help defray the cost of bargaining and enforcing an employment agreement that compensates employees for their work and provides certain protections against unfair employment decisions.
 
Who pays a fair share fee?
In Minnesota, employees of state and local government, including school districts, may be members of a collective bargaining unit if their colleagues have elected to have a union represent them. Employees who are in a collective bargaining unit, but do not want to be members of a union, pay a fair share fee in lieu of union dues.

What is a fair share fee?
The fair share fee represents the portion of union spending that is related to collectively bargaining and enforcing a collective employment agreement that covers everyone in a bargaining unit. In Minnesota, fair share fees cannot be greater than 85 percent of the dues that the union charges full members. The fee ensures that individuals who get the benefit of a bargained and enforced contract help contribute to the cost of maintaining it.

How do you determine who pays the fair share fee?
Individual employees make this determination – in Minnesota, a government employee must affirmatively elect to be a member of the union. If the employee does not, he or she pays the fair share fee.

About Education Minnesota

Education Minnesota represents 70,000 professionals working together for excellence in education for all students. Education Minnesota’s members include teachers and education support professionals in Minnesota’s public school districts, faculty members at Minnesota’s community and technical colleges and University of Minnesota campuses in Duluth and Crookston, retired educators and student teachers. Education Minnesota is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and AFL-CIO.