With only 8 Supreme Court justices remaining after the unexpected death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a tie 4-4 decision was issued in the Friedrichs vs. CTA case today. The decision affirms a lower court ruling that upholds the practice of forced union fees.

1. By law, a tie vote at the U.S. Supreme Court level is considered a stalemate as it does not settle a legal question but rather leaves the lower court’s opinion in place. Teachers still deserve an answer regarding whether or not the forcible collection of millions of dollars from their paychecks in the form of union fees is in violation of their First Amendment rights.


2. The Center for Individual Rights, or CIR, (the representing agent for Friedrichs and the AAE member teachers standing alongside her) will be filing a petition for the case to be reheard once a new Supreme Court justice is appointed and can give this case the majority ruling it deserves. Rehearings have happened in numerous cases involving fundamental individual rights over the past decade.


3. Though the votes of each justice were not made public, the swing vote in question has been attributed to Justice Anthony Kennedy. This tie ruling clearly indicates where he stands on the issue – a promising piece of evidence that moving forward with the case could prove fruitful.


4. The potential impact this case could have on worker rights is so huge that it’s been followed closer than most other cases in recent history. Stakeholders on both sides of the issue are eager to keep the conversation alive until a more definitive verdict can be reached.

Ultimately, the next U.S. Supreme Court justice could single-handedly determine the course of human history with regard to issues involving big labor.

As the case continues to unfold, AAE remains in steadfast support of Rebecca Friedrichs and the AAE member teachers standing alongside her as they fight to ensure that teachers’ First Amendment rights are not trampled as a result of forced unionism and we are confident that we are on the right side of history.

Are there any questions left unanswered regarding the Friedrichs case that you want to learn more about?
Tell us in the comments below.

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