The big news: The Idaho Senate passed House Bill 516, a sweeping anti-union bill that only targets the Idaho Education Association, on Wednesday. The vote was 20-14.
The debate: Senators debated the bill for over 30 minutes before voting. Emotions were strong and, at times, heated.
• Sen. Brian Lenney (R-Nampa), the bill's sponsor, made it clear the purpose of the bill is to punish IEA for its perceived politics, singling out the union’s parent organization, the National Education Association — and falsely saying taxpayer money goes to the NEA. The bill “simply does one thing and answers the question about whether Idaho taxpayers should be forced to fund the administrative operations of a private, Washington, D.C.-based political organization.”
• Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking (D-Boise), a retired educator and grandmother to Boise educators, made a passionate and emotional plea to her fellow senators. “IEA is made up of your local teachers,” she said. “We volunteer our time to work on education issues that matter to Idaho kids. We are your neighbors. We are active members of your communities. We’re you’re coaches, and we stand in loco parentis. When we are teaching, we stand instead of parents. When your children walk into our classroom, they become ours, and we listen to their fears. We dry their tears. We celebrate their successes, and yes, we find a new way when they fail.”
Contact Legislators NOW
Use this form to email legislators and tell them to vote against House Bill 516.
• Sen. Camille Blaylock (R-Caldwell) made it clear her support of the bill was due, in part, to the union’s battle against the Luna Laws pushed forward by her father, Tom Luna, in the early 2000s — and IEA’s continued advocacy. IEA and allies successfully overturned those laws through the citizen initiative process. “Every one of us in this room can still call back to strong influences,” she said. “I mean, even in the last 24 hours, it was brought up some of the emails that have been flowing into our inboxes. You know, that’s coordinated outreach.”
• Sen. Jim Guthrie (R-McCammon), a longtime construction union member, said the bill was so overreaching that it threatens to infringe on educators’ rights. “Think about the irony of why we’re picking on the profession that we say is our most important — to educate our kids,” he said.
What happens now: The amended House Bill 516 heads back to the Idaho House for a concurrence vote, where it is expected to pass. If the House concurs with the amended bill, the bill heads to Gov. Brad Little for his signature or veto.
• With the Legislature in the final days of the session, the House vote could come at any time.
This Is Why May Matters
Legislators like Brian Lenney and Cindy Carlson — as well as Rep. Judy Boyle, the sponsor of the original anti-IEA bill — will keep pushing to silence your union by any legislative means possible. The only way to stop them is to vote them out of office during the May 19 primary.
How we got here: The bill did not take the traditional path forward.
• On Tuesday, Sen. Lenney and Sen. Cindy Carlson (R-Riggins) used a rare procedural maneuver known as a “radiator cap”: they tacked strict anti-union language onto House Bill 516, a bill that originally had nothing to do with labor relations.
• The new text of House Bill 516 is similar to the existing anti-union bill House Bill 745, which has been held in the Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee for weeks.
How this bill is different: This is a different bill than House Bill 745, which has already passed the House — Lenney and Carlson used the bulk of the language from the original legislation, however.
• It is more explicit than House Bill 745, specifically targeting “teachers unions” by placing it directly in Title 33, the section of the law that deals with education. In essence, the bill prohibits the use of district property, staff time or resources for union activity.
What the bill does: The amended bill contains a long list of prohibited activities.
If passed, union members will no longer be allowed to do the following on school property:
• Distribute IEA recruitment materials
• Recruit during school hours
• Meet about union business including meetings with your district — such as negotiations — without reimbursing the district
• Gather contact information from districts beyond what is federally available
• Seek to become the exclusive representative of all professional employees in a district
• Collect dues through payroll deduction
The bill will severely limit union power:
• Under the bill, grievances will be considered a “teachers union activity” and restricted.
• IEA members will be prohibited from electoral or legislative advocacy work on school time — in other words, no time off during the school day to testify on bills affecting the union and no attending Delegate Assembly during the school week.
• The bill broadens the definition of “affiliate” to include a “political committee or political organization controlled by a teachers union.” In other words, PACE could be swept into the restrictions.
• An “affiliate” also could include the IEA Children’s Fund and the Center for Teaching and Learning, which means school fundraisers for disadvantaged children and professional development outreach on school grounds would be prohibited.
• Time off for union activities, even if that time has been negotiated and written into a collective bargaining agreement, will not be allowed — even for Delegate Assembly.
Union members and district employees could incur civil penalties:
• Any union member or district employee who violates the law could incur civil penalties. A basic violation will be $250, someone who knowingly violates the law will be $1,500, and a third violation will result in a $2,500 fine.
