Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/154758
AROUND AEA AEA Wins Permanent Injunction Against Educator Gag Bill On March 29, 2013, U.S. District Court Judge G. Murray Snow granted the Arizona Education Association's (AEA) request for a permanent injunction of Senate Bill (SB) 1365, a law that restricts the way educators pay their annual dues and contributions to their professional associations. AEA obtained a preliminary injunction against SB 1365 in October of 2011 and was granted a permanent injunction this past spring because the court agreed that SB 1365 constitutes viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The court found that SB 1365 places a discriminatory and unjustified burden on union speech. It is critical that those who educate and serve our students be able to form a united voice from their collective commitment and expertise. The AEA is the voice of quality public education in Arizona, and we will defend the right of our members in expressing that voice. AEA, with other public unions, filed a lawsuit contesting the constitutionality of SB 1365 in 2011. This bill, passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Governor Jan Brewer in April 2011, places restrictions on payroll deductions for specific labor unions, including AEA, but it excludes public safety employee unions and other entities from its requirements, and in doing so, SB 1365 favors the speech of one group of employees over the less favorable speech of others. Political observers believe this law was passed in response to AEA's community organizing to fight funding cuts to public education and speak up for a fair and equitable tax structure. This is a great victory for AEA! The voice of AEA members is important, and the court's ruling affirms that truth. AEA is continuing to monitor legislation impacting dues deduction and will act in members' best interests. Thank you for your dedication to quality public education in Arizona. 2 AEA Supports Protect Your Right to Vote Campaign Voting must be free, fair, and accessible. AEA believes we must stand up to the politicians and extremists who are manipulating the system to make it more difficult to vote. AEA has worked closely with a broad coalition of concerned citizens and organizations to file a referendum with the Arizona Secretary of State to overturn House Bill 2305, a highly partisan measure that does the following: •Makes it more difficult for Arizona citizens to vote •Makes it more difficult to start citizen initiatives •Kicks people off the early voter rolls •Keeps third parties off the ballot •Makes it a crime for groups to help elderly, homebound, disabled, and economically disadvantaged voters get their early voting ballots to the polls The AEA Board of Directors has unanimously passed motions to support the referral and Fall.13advo.indd 14 make a contribution to the campaign. Allowing this law to take effect would make it more difficult to hold politicians accountable for their lack of support for public education. The petition drive to refer HB 2305 to the 2014 ballot is being organized by the Protect Your Right to Vote Committee. AEA and NEA have already made a financial contribution to the campaign. The coalition that AEA has helped pull together includes a broad spectrum of Arizonans, including the Libertarian Party, Democratic Party, and the Green Party. Labor, environmentalists, Latinos, civic leaders, and host of others have joined forces to gather signatures and wage a campaign to defeat HB 2305 at the ballot box. AEA is part of an effort to gather 86,000 valid signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State by September 12, 2013. Your help is needed if we are going to be successful. Please contact your local association president about how to get involved in this campaign. 2 14 Fall 2013 x AEA Advocate 8/7/13 2:35 PM