Senate panel kills plan to give teachers an easy opt-out from unions

May 7, 2012

Aaron Gardner / Media Trackers

A Senate committee scuttled legislation on Friday that would have allowed teachers to opt-out of union membership at any time and for any reason.  The party line vote against the bill came during an early morning hearing with virtually no testimony or debate.

House Bill 1333 would have allowed teachers to end automatic payroll deductions for union dues after giving 30 days written notice to their employer. The legislation would have also required teachers unions to provide an annual financial disclosure to teachers paying union dues.

The Colorado Education Association (CEA), which calls itself a “voluntary membership organization” and is an affiliate of the National Education Association, lobbied against the legislation on grounds that it violated the Colorado State Constitution’s “local control” provision for education and section 11 of the state’s Bill of Rights, which protects against most retroactive laws and the impairment of current contracts. …see full story by Media Trackers

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Tags: Colorado Education Association, opt-out window, teachers union, union dues