Nearly 1 in 3 Illinois school contracts mislead teachers about fees they owe

Seven years after they were freed from being forced to pay unions, at least 267 of Illinois’ 866 school districts still have “fair share” language in their teachers union contracts. Those contracts are wrong and should be fixed so teachers get the truth about their pay.

It’s been seven years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled government unions could not force nonmembers to pay “fair share” fees in order to keep their jobs, but nearly one-third of Illinois school districts still have the invalid language in their teachers union contracts.

School leaders are telling employees that even teachers who are not union members must pay “fair share” fees to unions for negotiating the contracts that cover them all, according to the Illinois State Board of Education’s 2024-2025 Teacher Salary Survey. Those 267 districts – including 66 that are negotiating new contracts this year – should remove that language during their next contract negotiations.

Teachers unions, such as the Illinois Federation of Teachers, may be keeping that language in the contracts to purposely confuse teachers into thinking they must either remain members or pay a fee. In reality they can opt out of membership and keep their money.

“Fair share” language is unconstitutional

Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, teachers unions were allowed to place “fair share” provisions in their contracts with school districts. Those provisions allowed the unions to charge nonmembers “agency fees” for representation, even though those government employees were not union members.

While the unions argued those fees covered the alleged cost of representing the nonmembers, the reality was those workers had representation forced upon them. The court termed them “forced riders” – rejecting the unions’ characterization of them as “free riders” – because the nonmembers had no choice. They were compelled to pay a union for representation they may not even want.

The court’s decision invalidated “fair share” language and rid the government union landscape of forced fees once and for all. “States and public-sector unions may no longer extract agency fees from nonconsenting employees…. Neither an agency fee nor any other payment to the union may be deducted from a nonmember’s wages, nor may any other attempt be made to collect such a payment, unless the employee affirmatively consents to pay,” the court held.

At least 267 of Illinois’ 866 school districts still have unconstitutional fair share language in teachers union contracts

Fair share language is inconsistent with legal precedent, yet at least 267 of Illinois’ 866 school districts still have fair share language in their teachers union contracts, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Each year, the state board sends out a teacher salary survey to school districts across the state. One question: Does contract contain fair share provision?

The 2024-2025 Teacher Salary Survey revealed 267 districts answered that question in the affirmative.

Of those, 66 have contracts that are expiring in June, July, August or September this year. Those include at least 47 local affiliates of the Illinois Education Association and 16 local affiliates of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. The rest are represented by smaller independent unions.

The fair share language should be removed in the districts’ next round of contract negotiations, even if a district or union is not currently trying to collect the fees. The language is invalid and could confuse employees as to the correct legal status and obligations of nonmembers. IFT and IEA may be keeping that language in the contracts to purposely confuse teachers into thinking they must either remain members or pay a fee, when they can opt out of membership and pay no fees.

If districts think their contracts do not contain fair share language, they should answer the survey in the negative when the state board sends it out again in the fall.