INDIANAPOLIS — Teachers’ unions are crying foul over what they saw as a surprise effort to impede the collection of their dues by Gov. Mike Penceand Indiana House Republicans.
A House panel advanced a measure Tuesday that would bar schools from deducting union fees from teachers’ paychecks — a move backed by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
That proposal was tacked onto an unrelated bill as an amendment during a House Education Committee hearing that took place ahead of a key legislative deadline. It was authored by Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton, and quickly supported during the hearing by Pence’s top policy aide, Marilee Springer.
Thompson argued that unions — especially the Indiana State Teachers Association — funnel contributions into political campaigns, and shouldn’t get the government’s help in doing so.
“If someone were to use a Statehouse phone to solicit contributions, that’s illegal,” he said. “Using government to help run the political side — that’s not the way to operate. It’s that simple.”
The move spurred the Indiana State Teachers Association into action. The group emailed thousands of its members Tuesday afternoon urging them to contact their lawmakers and ask them to oppose Thompson’s measure.
“It is another anti-union attack. It does nothing to improve schools,” said ISTA President Nate Schnellenberg. “I am disappointed that these anti-teacher attacks continue. It takes away a teacher’s right to decide how they want to pay dues.”
Indiana unions have been hit hard in recent years. In 2011, lawmakers approved strict limits on teachers’ collective bargaining rights. A year later, they made Indiana a “right to work” state, barring unions from collecting dues as a condition of employment.
Meanwhile, the candidate many teachers’ groups endorsed in the state superintendent of public instruction race — Democrat Glenda Ritz — is facing efforts from some lawmakers to shift her powers, including oversight of Indiana’s voucher program, into the governor’s office.
Rep. Kreg Battles, D-Vincennes, said he was miffed that Republicans offered little warning that Thompson’s measure was coming. He said Democrats learned of the amendment Monday evening, and it wasn’t available to the public until Tuesday.
“We’re seeing this become a pattern — highly controversial things submitted into bills literally at the 11th hour,” he said. “There was very little transparency in this whole process on something this controversial.”
He said schools should be allowed to deduct union dues just like they can deduct United Way contributions and Social Security taxes.
“This was pure politics. It was wrapped in politics. It had nothing to do with kids. It had nothing to do with policy,” Battles said.
“It’s very obvious that one of the biggest donators to the state Democratic Party, to the state Democratic caucus is the ISTA. There is a feeling that if you put some kind of stumbling block or roadblock, it’s going to impede and get in the way of its progress.”
The dues-collection language was part of an amendment that also contained a number of broadly-supported measures, including tax deductions for teachers to buy school supplies and continuing education waivers for top-rated educators.
Pence spokeswoman Kara Brooks said the governor supports the full bill. She said it “does a lot of good things for teachers and schools. It funds excellence and rewards great teachers and schools, which will yield results for our students, their families and the entire state.”
The bill now moves to the floor of the Indiana House for a vote that’s expected to take place ahead of a Monday deadline.