Huntsville, AL – A federal judge in Huntsville is considering a request from the Alabama Education Association to block enforcement of a new state law that would hurt the teachers' organization financially.
U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith held a four-hour hearing Tuesday where AEA asked him to temporarily block a law that prohibits public employees from using payroll deductions to pay dues to groups if they use it for political activity.
AEA Executive Secretary Paul Hubbert said 83 percent of AEA's 105,000 members have signed up to pay their dues by bank draft. If that holds, he said AEA will lose between $1.25 million and $1.4 million in annual dues.
Assistant State Attorney General Jim Davis told the judge that the new law does not infringe on AEA's free speech.
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