TCTA's 2020-21 Executive Board begins term
TCTA's 2020-21 Executive Board started its term in office Monday, led by State President Twila Read of Grand Prairie. We appreciate your service and leadership and look forward to the year ahead! Pictured, from left, are: Joyce McCurdy of Wichita Falls, Albert Mosqueda of San Benito, Twila Read of Grand Prairie, Sherry Miller of Killeen, Eleanore Malone of Tyler, Melody Young of Sherman, Cristal Isaacks of Levelland, Nydia Alvarez-Alonzo of Mission.
A quick word about payroll deduction of dues
The issue of payroll deduction of association dues continues to get more complicated as certain non-teacher-friendly groups and policymakers would like to make it as difficult as possible for teachers to join an organizational ally. The U.S. Supreme Court released the Janus decision in 2018 in response to a lawsuit filed by an educator who did not like being forced to pay a fee to a teacher union that promoted social and political views with which he did not agree. Texas is a right to work state, and no educator is forced to join an organization or to pay a fee for that organization’s advocacy efforts.
However, the Texas attorney general recently issued an opinion indicating, to summarize, that continuous payroll deduction might not be legal, and that an employee wanting to use payroll deduction must transmit the request personally to the district, rather than having the organization do it. TCTA attorneys submitted a brief to the attorney general with our analysis that the Janus opinion has nothing to do with Texas educator association dues, and this remains the position of TCTA.
The attorney general's opinion is advisory only, but TCTA will be working with school district payroll offices to ensure that your ability to payroll deduct your dues is not interrupted.
As you renew your membership for 2020-21 or encourage colleagues to join, the optimal way to pay is online or by phone with a debit/credit card, or via check. That way your membership is activated right way (the new membership year begins Aug. 1), your membership is private and not subject to disruption by outside forces, and processing is less expensive, thus helping to maintain lower dues levels.
You can renew or join now at tcta.org/join.
