To opt out of the Tennessee Education Association dues:
- Enter your information into the form below and click “submit.”
- On the resulting page, click the link to open your customized form. You will also receive an email with a link to your form.
- Print the form. If you check the appropriate box about needing a printed version, we’ll mail you a copy of the form.
- Sign and date the form.
- Mail the completed form to the address at the top of the form. We highly recommend sending it via certified mail.
The Tennessee Education Association (TEA) is the state’s largest unions for teachers and other public school employees, representing approximately 46,000 workers.
Those who find themselves in a union-represented workplace should know that Tennessee law has long protected public employees from being forced to financially support a union against their will. Furthermore, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Janus v. AFSCME reaffirmed that all public employees have a constitutional right to choose for themselves whether to pay any union dues or fees.
You can opt out of TEA dues by filling out the form above, printing it and mailing it to the union
Frequently Asked Questions
Depending on your job type, your dues can range from $77.50 to $309.50. Members are also required to pay additional fee’s to the National Education Association. Depending on your job type, the addition fee ranges from $15.00 to $204.30.
Yes. TEA has been empowered by the state to represent those in your workplace. Employees are not allowed to negotiate their own compensation or handle their own grievances with their employer, nor can they hire another person or entity to represent them.
In exchange for this unusual benefit, TEA is legally obligated to represent all employees in the workplace, including those who choose not to join the union as members.
Consequently, the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the union and your employer will continue to set the terms and conditions of your employment and the union will continue to represent you in grievances, contract enforcement, discipline assistance or other proceedings governed by the collective bargaining agreement.
No. All provisions of the collective bargaining agreement between the union and your employer will continue to govern your employment. Your wages, health benefits, retirement and anything else governed by the collective bargaining agreement will remain unchanged if you opt out of TEA.
While the terms of the collective bargaining agreement will still govern your employment, as a nonmember, the union may choose to prevent you from participating in internal union affairs, such as attending union meetings or voting in union elections, including contract ratification votes. Unions also commonly withhold any special “members-only” deals or discounts the union has arranged for with businesses. You may no longer receive the union newsletter or similar publications.
The NEA operates a professional liability insurance program using dues collected from its members. The “Educators Employment Liability Program” costs the NEA about $5 per member per year to operate. Only NEA members may access the program.
However, as the NEA points out, “it is the responsibility of your employer to provide you with insurance to protect you from personal financial liability stemming from employment-related lawsuits.” Many districts automatically provide such protection for their teachers, and some states require it. Contact the school district business office/HR department for more information about employer-provided liability protection.
If you would like personal professional liability protection unconnected to your employer and/or union, and that doesn’t require paying $1,000 or more per year in dues, you can obtain a policy from independent professional education associations like the Association of American Educators, Christian Educators Association International, or you can obtain a policy from a traditional insurance provider.
People have many reasons for not wanting to support the union. Some simply do not believe the services the union provides are worth the dues it charges. Others may find the union’s one-size-fits-all agenda does not serve them well because they are new to the profession, have a specialty that is not acknowledged in bargaining, or they believe their effectiveness is undercompensated. Some resent the union’s role in enabling and defending underperforming employees. Many find the union’s political activity and use of dues to advance partisan causes, candidates and ideology distasteful. Still others believe that union officials are corrupt and unaccountable to their membership.
Unions representing public employees are not governed by the usual consumer protection or anti-trust laws, so abuses are common. Unions can charge whatever they wish. They can spend dues money on anything they want. Often, they do not have to disclose how dues money is spent to members. They can speak for employees without consulting or informing them. They can injure some members’ interests while advancing the interests of others. Unions even have the ability to prevent employees from getting help in their workplace from other sources. They are not governed by any obligation to provide quality service, and almost never have to seek approval of the people they represent in an election to continue as the exclusive representative.
Sometimes people have a faith-based objection to unions’ expenditures. To learn more about some of the major public unions’ expenditures in light of common faith beliefs, click here.
Tennessee Education Association
AEA collected $7.1 million in dues and fees from its members in fiscal year 2022, according to reports the union must file with the U.S. Dept. of Labor.
In 2022 alone:
- $637,500 on travel
- $609,500 on legal services
- $299,900 on office expenses
- $236,600 on advertising and promotion
TEA paid 14 officers and employees in 2022, 7 of whom were paid six figures. Executive Director Terrance Gibson was paid $196,787.
TEA holds $3.54 million in cash reserves.
TEA’s most recent 990 reports are available here
A portion of the dues paid by TEA members goes to support the National Education Association headquarters in Washington, D.C.
National Education Association
According to its filings with the U.S. Dept. of Labor, NEA collected $375 million from its members in fiscal year 2022. In that year alone:
- $41.6 million was spent on divisive political candidates, causes and lobbying.
- $120 million was paid or contributed to largely ideological organizations. This included $270,000 donated to the Democracy Alliance, a radical left organization founded by George Soros. NEA also gave $450,000 to the Strategic Victory Fund, a super PAC that has financially supported Planned Parenthood.
- $11.2 million was spent on travel for union staff and hotel venues, including $1.4 million for a conference at the Caesars Forum Convention Center in Las Vegas.
- $19.9 million was spent on legal and consulting services.
- $311,492 was spent on food and catering.
NEA paid 694 officers and employees in 2022, 429 of whom were paid six figures. NEA president Rebecca Pringle received $449,537.
NEA’s most recent LM-2 reports are available here: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016.