WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule in the case of Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in the spring of 2018; and

WHEREAS, the court’s likely decision in favor of the plaintiff could effectively prevent school districts from collecting fair-share fees from nonunion members represented by teachers unions and other public-sector unions as well; and

WHEREAS, this means that although public-sector unions would still be obligated to represent all members of their bargaining units, they would no longer be assured of receiving fees to compensate them for the costs of representing nonmembers, which could deeply undercut the unions’ financial viability; and

WHEREAS, an adverse decision on Janus has the potential to weaken union power and solidarity by dividing union members from nonmembers; and

WHEREAS, the UFT fought the Trump administration's elimination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and stands with nearly 800,000 immigrants who face deportation; and

WHEREAS, the UFT worked with coalition partners, community groups and our membership to raise the age at which adolescents are sentenced as adults in New York State to 18; and

WHEREAS, the UFT affirmed and supported the NAACP’s call for a moratorium on charter school expansion; and

WHEREAS, the UFT has condemned Islamophobia and supported and protected the rights of Muslims; and

WHEREAS, the UFT opposed the NYPD’s “stop and frisk” practices and joined the 2012 national march against stop and frisk; and

WHEREAS, the UFT demanded justice for Trayvon Martin in 2012 and opposed the “stand your ground” law responsible for his death; and

WHEREAS, a verdict against fair-share fees in the Janus case directly threatens the very strength the UFT has to deploy on behalf of causes like these and the countless efforts the union makes every day to increase the well-being, safety, dignity and justice of working people and marginalized communities; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the UFT will continue its door-knocking campaign to visit every member and fair-share fee payer with the goal of persuading everyone to pledge to remain or become a full-fledged, dues- paying union member; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the UFT will continue this campaign regardless of the Janus verdict to ensure that everyone is fully aware of the importance of belonging to the union; and be it further

RESOLVED, the UFT will work with other municipal unions to come up with a long-term plan to ensure the health of the labor movement in the state while we await the Janus decision.