On June 14, 2025, Americans across the country took to the streets to exercise their First Amendment right to peaceably assemble and express their opposition to perceived overreach of presidential power. Several rallies featured prominent elected officials as keynote speakers. Some were surprised to see that one of the featured speakers at the Philadelphia rally was Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the nation’s second-largest teachers union. In fact, Weingarten and Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association (NEA), were both, until recently, at-large members of the Democratic National Convention.

It’s not exactly news that teachers’ unions, and other public sector unions, skew to the political left. In 2023-24, NEA’s political contributions totaled $32,383,443, all but $51,922 to Democrats. AFT’s political contributions for the same period totaled $7,118,594, and $0 to Republican candidates. This breakdown doesn’t reflect Louisiana’s voting population. As of June 1, 2025, Louisiana’s nearly 3 million registered voters are 36.7% Democrat, 35.2% Republican, and 28.1% Other. Nationally representative surveys show that teachers are politically moderate, and Donald Trump took 60% of Louisiana’s vote in the 2024 election. These numbers strongly suggest that Louisiana teachers who belong to a union are paying for political speech with which they disagree.

Legislative Action That Could Have Made a Difference

The Louisiana Legislature had an opportunity to protect educators and other government employees who have concerns about what their dues are supporting. House Bill (HB) 293 by Representative Michael Melerine (R-Shreveport) would have required public employees to reaffirm their membership annually, just like the process of easily reaffirming and reenrolling in health insurance and other employment related benefits, and allowed them to resign their union membership and cease paying dues at any time. The bill was reported favorably by the House Labor and Industrial Relations Committee on April 24, 2025. During that hearing, legislators addressed fiscal concerns about the bill’s potential costs to local governments by amending the bill to require unions to cover the minimal costs associated with notifying public employees of their rights regarding union membership.

The bill made its way through the full House, a Senate committee, and ultimately to the Senate floor, where it was presented by Senator Stewart Cathey (R-Monroe), who has advocated for government union reform during his time in the Legislature. Senator Eddie Lambert (R-Gonzales) proposed an amendment that removed the requirement for public employees to consent annually to union membership. The amendment passed with bi-partisan support, and the bill passed the Senate as amended. The House rejected the Senate’s amendments upon concurrence. HB 293 met its end when Senators Lambert and Patrick Connick (R-Marrero) were appointed by Senate President Cameron Henry (R-Metairie) to the bill’s conference committee, along with the bill author. They refused to sign the conference committee report that reinserted the annual union membership reaffirmation provision.

The Broader Implications of Janus v. AFSCME

The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in the 2018 landmark decision Janus v. American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) that the First Amendment guarantees the right of a worker to pay—or not pay—a union. Mark Janus’s disagreement with his union wasn’t over a titillating political issue; it was over the state budget. AFSCME, his union, went against members’ wishes and requested a $3 billion increase in wages and benefits at a time when Illinois faced a budget crisis.  Similarly, in Louisiana, Constitutional Amendment 2 on the March 2025 ballot would have strengthened Louisiana’s fiscal outlook and provided teachers with a permanent pay raise. The Louisiana Federation of Teachers and its local affiliates took opposing positions on Constitutional Amendment 2. Jefferson Federation of Teachers and the St. Tammany Federation of Teachers both organized campaigns to oppose the amendments. On social media, the St. Tammany affiliate president even criticized elected local officials who supported the amendment. This stance contradicted the interest of many teachers, highlighting yet another instance where union leadership and rank-and-file members were misaligned.

Political Activity Beyond Teacher Pay

Union involvement in Louisiana politics extends far beyond issues directly impacting teachers. For example, the Jefferson Federation of Teachers shared the local American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations’ (AFL-CIO’s) endorsements in local races. Similarly, the Lafayette Parish Association of Educators shared the Louisiana Association of Educators’ (LAE’s) endorsements on constitutional amendments, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House races and supported local tax ballot propositions. Other organizations, like the St. John Parish Association of Educators, engaged in broader political activities,  encouraging its members to phone bank for Kamala Harris.

But perhaps, the most appalling political speech from a public union comes from United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO). Following the horrific Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, in Israel, UTNO released a statement calling for a ceasefire and describing the events as part of an ongoing “struggle and resistance”. This initial statement drew widespread criticism for failing to unequivocally condemn the atrocities. While UTNO later revised its remarks, its partnerships with organizations like the New Orleans Democratic Socialists of America and other far-left organizations underscore a troubling pattern of radical political engagement by public unions.

The Fallout from HB 293’s Failure

Because of HB 293’s failure, many Louisiana teachers remain locked into paying union dues that fund political activity with which they fundamentally disagree. Current membership agreements, along with narrow drop windows or  their parishes’ collective bargaining agreement, limits their ability to resign freely. This lack of flexibility highlights the urgent need for Louisiana to revisit reforms that protect public employees’ First Amendment rights and allow for greater individual autonomy.

At its core, Louisiana deserves policies that empower individuals—not institutions—so freedom and opportunity can flourish across the state. Teachers and other public employees shouldn’t have to subsidize political speech they oppose, nor should they be barred from resigning their union memberships with ease.

Moving Forward

The Pelican Institute is deeply grateful to Representative Melerine and Senator Cathey for championing reforms that promote free speech and respect the rights of Louisiana’s hardworking government employees. We remain committed to advocating for common-sense policies that ensure freedom and opportunity bloom in every corner of our great state.