Opening Arguments for Friedrichs

It was only about 30 degrees on the Supreme Court steps this morning, but the 200 Americans crowding the sidewalk were too fired up to notice the loss of feeling in their toes.  The flood of bodies, holding signs with phrases like ‘I Stand With Rebecca’ and ‘#WorkTogether’, rallied outside for the initial oral arguments of Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association (CTA). 

Friedrichs is a highly anticipated court case, and for good reason.  The plaintiffs, ten California teachers, declare that union agency fees violate their First Amendment rights.  The union, meanwhile, asserts that these mandatory fees for non-members protect against “free-riders”. 

On the plaintiffs’ side of the steps is Dave Dewhirst, who serves as litigation counsel for the Freedom Foundation.  He believes that unions should not be able to force teachers to pay for political speech.  Unions use their money to snuff out dissenters, he continues, rather than actually helping the teachers they claim to represent.  When the system, corrupted by partisan politics and inefficient decisions, fails, it abuses its workers and the children.  The crowd cheered as Dewhirst closed his statement saying, “they [the CTA] can’t win because, let’s face it, the Constitution is clearly not on their side”. 

Grover Norquist, the President of Americans for Tax Reform, and Matt Patterson, the Executive Director at the Center for Worker Freedom, spoke on behalf of Friedrichs as well.  You can watch both Grover’s and Matt’s speeches. 

Amid the union supporters, just a few steps over from the blue and red ‘Trust Teachers’ signs, stands Donya Coldwell, an adjunct professor from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.  Coldwell, who has been teaching without a contract for ten years, is scared of the case’s outcome. Since she, like most adjunct professors, is hired per course.  Coldwell worries that without agency fees, the union will collapse and she will lose her voice within the school’s administration.  Despite Coldwell’s fears, if passed, Friedrichs will not destroy unions, but overturn the questionable fees.

There was intense competition on the steps of the Supreme Court.  With every cheer, the sides grew louder and thrust their signs higher into the air.  Both wanted to be heard.  Teachers, who know their beliefs, rights, and their students, want to be heard as well.  If teachers are able to educate our children, they should be free to choose and, as Americans, we should listen.