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MEDIA ADVISORY

For Immediate Release


October 5, 2015
Contacts:
Mona Davids mona@nycparentsunion.org
646.872.7149 @MonaDavids
Gwen Samuel gwen@ctparentsunion.org
203.443.3203 @RealTalkGwenS

Public School Parents, Education Advocates and Civil Rights Activists Stand With
Teachers in Historic Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association
WHO: Former California Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, California Center for Parent
Empowerment, Michael Edney, Counsel of Record for the Amici Curiae, Gwen Samuel, National
Parents Union, Connecticut Parents Union, Mona Davids, Sam Pirozzolo, New York City Parents
Union, Kelley Williams-Bolar, Hamlet Garcia, Rishawn Biddle, Dropout Nation, Dmitri Mehlhorn,
Erika Sanzi, Julie Collier, Bonnie Oneil,and Laura Ferguson filing as amici curiae in support of the
Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association petitioners
WHAT: National media conference call to announce the filing of the landmark amicus brief by
nationally recognized parents, community organizations, education reformers, and civil rights
activists on behalf of Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. The case will be argued before
the United States Supreme Court this fall.
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WHEN: October 7 , 2015 at 1 pm EST (10 am PST)


Conference dial-in number: (559) 546-1880
Participant access code: 404941
WHY: Friedrichs asks the Court to review the constitutionality of compulsory union dues and is
considered to be one of the most significant court cases before the Court this session. Joined by
fellow public school teachers, Rebecca Friedrichs seeks to re-establish the right of individual
teachers and other public employees to decide for themselves whether to join and support a
union. The suit claims state agency shop laws, which require public employees to pay union
dues as a condition of employment, violate well-settled principles of freedom of speech and
association. While many teachers support the union, others do not and the state cannot
constitutionally compel an individual to join and financially support an organization with which he
or she disagrees.
On September 11, 2015, former California Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, California Center
for Parent Empowerment, Gwen Samuel, National Parents Union, Connecticut Parents Union,
Mona Davids, Sam Pirozzolo, New York City Parents Union, Kelley Williams-Bolar, Hamlet Garcia,
Rishawn Biddle, Dropout Nation, Dmitri Mehlhorn, Erika Sanzi, Julie Collier, Bonnie Oneil,and
Laura Ferguson filed as amici curiae in support of the Friedrichs petitioners.

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Michael Edney, Counsel of Record for the Amici Curiae, commented on the significance of the
Amicus Brief, saying: The Friedrichs case is about giving a fair chance to everyones voice about
how our children should be educated. My clients are only a few of the thousands of parents who
have been pleading with public school boards and administrators for reform. But their voice is
drowned out by the advocacy of teacher unions, which is funded by compelling every teacher in a
school district to pay the union. The policies sought by the unions in collective bargainingagainst
performance reviews, transfers of teachers based on need, and merit-based paymake
meaningful reform impossible, and many dedicated teachers oppose these policies. Laws that
compel citizens to subsidize a private partys advocacy, even when they disagree, violate the First
Amendments guarantee of free speech. We fully support the Petitioners request that the Court
strike down laws requiring teachers to subsidize union advocacy. Such a decision will provide for a
fair public policy debate over the future of education, in which the Government does not give one
side a commanding advantage.
Added Gwen Samuel, President of the National Parents Union, "Every day, parents across the
country must send their children to public schools because of compulsory education laws even
if being in those schools harm their children physically and educationally. Every pay period,
teachers pay their hard-earned dollars into the bank accounts of teachers unions even if they
arent members. Both are wrong.
Sam Pirozzolo and Mona Davids added, As parents, we have had to go to court to seek justice,
trying to overcome the Goliath teachers unions which continually suppress the rights of our
children to access the American Dream via a quality education. By standing with the Friedrichs
plaintiffs, we simultaneously stand for the opportunities of our children.
Stated Senator Romero, the denial of these First Amendment rights for teachers simultaneously
denies the civil rights of predominantly poor and minority children in America. Virtually every
reform we fight for are obstructed by the all-powerful CTAeven when rank and file teachers
support our reforms. By denying teachers their rights, our kids suffer the consequences by being
denied a quality education.
Joining the case are two parents who have actually been arrested and prosecuted for theft of
educational services when they enrolled their children outside their default geographically
assigned school districts, Kelley Williams-Bolar and Hamlet Garcia. Both have become symbols of
the fight for greater parental empowerment nationally and will join the call.
Click here for a copy of the Amicus Brief filed September 11, 2015.
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1811 Victory Boulevard | Staten Island, NY 10314


E: admin@nycparentsunion.org | P: 646.481.5760 | W: nycparentsunion.org

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