Few v. UTLA Archives - Stand With Workers

Fox News: Special ed teacher suing to leave California union

Tommy Few, a special education teacher at Sepulveda Middle School in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, filed suit late last year against the United Teachers of Los Angeles – along with the Los Angeles Unified School District and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra – claiming his First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association were violated when he tried to leave the UTLA following last summer’s Supreme Court ruling in Janus v. AFSCME.

“When I found out that I didn’t have to be in the union and have those dues deducted from my paycheck every month, I wanted out,” Few told Fox News. “But they tried to tell me that I could only leave during their opt-out window and that I still had to pay the dues.”

Meet Tommy Few

I’d like you to take a minute to meet Tommy Few, a special education teacher in California whose request to exercise his constitutional right to leave

California: teachers only have consititutional rights 30 days a year

I have exciting news — in partnership with the California Policy Center, we’ve just filed a lawsuit in California, Few v. UTLA, to restore the First Amendment rights of special ed teacher Thomas Few.

As you know, earlier this summer the U.S. Supreme Court struck down mandatory union membership for all teachers, and government workers, in the U.S., yet the United Teachers of Los Angeles refuse to let Few out.
UTLA has insisted that Few can only exercise his constitutional rights opt out once a year during a brief, 30-day period which they define.