TN Teachers Union Drops Lawsuit Seeking Paycheck Deduction Rights

A Tennessee teachers union has made the decision to dismiss a lawsuit it filed against a new state‌ law. This law⁣ prohibits the union from deducting association fees from teachers’ paychecks.

The Tennessee Education Association, representing over ‌45,000 teachers,⁢ chose to dismiss the lawsuit after a three-judge panel ⁤denied their ​motion to temporarily block the⁤ law.

Following the union’s voluntary offer to⁢ dismiss the suit, the court ordered its dismissal without prejudice.

The law not only prohibits paycheck deductions but ⁣also raises the minimum salary‌ for teachers to $50,000 by the ⁢2026-2027 school year.

Prior to the union withdrawing its suit, the court stated that the union’s arguments were unlikely to succeed.

“We hold ​that the Plaintiffs are unlikely to succeed on the merits of either claim,” the court ‍ said.⁢ “Plaintiffs have failed to show that the Act substantially impairs either set of contracts implicated by​ the change in the payroll deduction process.”

Initially, the union argued that the law was unconstitutional.

“Sliding a payroll⁣ dues deduction ban in a bill to raise the minimum‍ pay was​ a cynical ⁤attack on Tennessee teachers,” expressed Tennessee Education Association president Tanya Coats in June. “The ban was mean-spirited,‍ and the way ⁢it ⁤passed was unconstitutional.”

The union has invested millions of dollars in political⁣ lobbying. J.C. Bowman, the⁢ executive director of a non-partisan teachers’ association called Professional Educators of Tennessee, stated that the majority of the‍ funds go towards supporting left-leaning causes.

“Teachers⁣ unions consistently rank among the top spenders on politics,” Bowman told the Tennessee Star. ‌”Their goal is not improved public ⁣education,‌ but rather power, money, and influence. Most⁢ of ​those dollars go to candidates on the ‍left. It is easy to observe​ that teacher unions⁣ have donated millions to political campaigns, mostly going to Democratic⁤ candidates and​ committees.”