Kansas Senate bill sets regular elections for teacher unions

Teachers unions would need to hold elections every three years to maintain their standing in a school district under a bill passed by the Kansas Senate on Wednesday.

Supporters say SB 469, which passed 22-18, will give teachers a greater say over who represents them. Opponents see it as an attack on unions.

The bill originally would have required unions to win support of a majority of all of a district’s professional employees. It was amended on the floor to instead require support from a majority of district employees who turn out to vote.

If a union fails to win the needed majority, it would lose its recognition in a school district and the employees would lose their representation.

The Kansas National Education Association, the state’s largest teacher union, said in a news release ahead of the vote that the bill is “clearly an attempt to undermine teacher rights and has nothing to do with improving teacher representation.”

Sen. Jeff Melcher, R-Leawood, who carried the bill, rejected that criticism and called the bill “teacher empowerment” because it would allow for more frequent elections.

Current law requires that 30 percent of a district’s employees sign a petition in order to mandate a union election. Many districts have not had a vote about union representation in decades.

“The only thing this bill is ‘anti of’ is anti-establishment,” Melcher said.

The bill now goes to the House.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 7:19 PM with the headline "Kansas Senate bill sets regular elections for teacher unions."