Janus v. AFSCME, the Supreme Court decision aka “Janus” is expected soon & will determine whether unions representing public employees, like the NTU, NJEA, etc. can collect fees from those who choose not to join a union but still benefit from collective bargaining i.e. “Agency Fee” payers.
Currently, the overwhelming majority of our members are full dues paying members, and rightly so. After what we’ve been through under state takeover and what the US Department of Education has planned for us, you need to be unaffiliated like you need a hole in the head. As a matter of fact 285 out of 300 formerly unaffiliated titles signed cards to come back into the NTU. PERC and Civil Service both agreed that what was done to them was wrong, and those staff are protected once again.
Whatever the Janus decision may bring rest assured, the NTU, with the support of our state and national federations, is prepared to provide you with seamless representation and services. We aren’t going to let a Supreme Court decision force us to do anything that would be detrimental to our ability to service ALL our members. We’re standing by our members—we hope you’ll stand by us. We’re One ‘Ohana too.'
In Solidarity,
John M. Abeigon
President/Director of Organization
Newark Teachers Union