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MEDIA ADVISORYFor 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 SenateMajority 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 supportof the

Friedrichsv. California Teachers Associationpetitioners

WHAT: National media conference callto 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 beforethe United States Supreme Court this fall.

WHEN: October 7th

, 2015 at 1 pm EST (10 am PST)

Conference dial-in number: (559) 546-1880

Participant access code:404941

WHY: Friedrichsasksthe 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 andassociation. 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 SenateMajority 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 Friedrichspetitioners.

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7/23/2019 Friedrichs Amicus Brief Media Advisory Oct5

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1811 Victory Boulevard | Staten Island, NY 10314

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

Michael Edney, Counsel of Record for the Amici Curiae, commented on the significance of the

Amicus Brief, saying: The Friedrichscase 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 aschool 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 herefor a copy of the Amicus Brief filed September 11, 2015.

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https://www.scribd.com/doc/283617781/Historic-Romero-et-al-Amicus-Brief-for-Friedrichs-v-California-Teachers-Associationhttps://www.scribd.com/doc/283617781/Historic-Romero-et-al-Amicus-Brief-for-Friedrichs-v-California-Teachers-Associationhttps://www.scribd.com/doc/283617781/Historic-Romero-et-al-Amicus-Brief-for-Friedrichs-v-California-Teachers-Associationhttps://www.scribd.com/doc/283617781/Historic-Romero-et-al-Amicus-Brief-for-Friedrichs-v-California-Teachers-Association