In a major victory for taxpayers, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit today reversed a lower court’s decision, ruling that residents have the legal standing to challenge a public school district’s practice of subsidizing a teachers’ union’s political activities.
The decision in Huizenga v. Independent School District No. 11 is the Upper Midwest Law Center’s second victory on a technical issue in this case. It now reinstates a lawsuit brought on behalf of taxpayers against the Anoka-Hennepin School District and a teachers’ union, sending it back to the U.S. District Court in Minnesota to be heard on its constitutional merits.
The lawsuit challenges a collective bargaining agreement that allows teachers to take a collective 100 paid days per year to work for the union, which then engages in political and campaign advocacy. The residents allege that this arrangement violates the Free Speech Clause by forcing them to subsidize the union’s political speech. The district court had previously dismissed the case, but the Eighth Circuit’s opinion, written by Judge Benton, firmly disagreed. The court held that the unconstitutional spending of taxpayer money is itself a legally protected injury, and that taxpayers do not need to show an overall “depletion of the public fisc” to have standing to sue.
“This is a victory for our taxpayer clients and another crucial win in our series of forced speech and subsidy cases,” said UMLC President Doug Seaton. “After two Appeals Court victories over technical issues, we have now paved the way to get a final ruling that this taxpayer-subsidized political speech by the Teachers’ Union is unlawful and must stop. This ruling would be a powerful precedent for the entire Eighth Circuit and a model for the rest of the country, as this practice is widespread wherever government unions are recognized. Taxpayers and others involved in schools should not have to support views they don’t agree with.”
