Both chambers approve measures guaranteeing equal access for all groups representing teachers.
Oklahoma City, OK — The Freedom Foundation today applauded the passage of two measures through the Oklahoma Legislature that would guarantee equal access for all organizations seeking to communicate with public school employees, breaking the stranglehold teachers’ unions have long held over educator outreach in the state.
Senate Bill 1884, authored by Sen. Dave Bullard (R-Durant), ensures that any organization communicating with educators about employment contracts gets the same access unions currently enjoy and prohibits districts from charging fees that effectively shut out the competition.
A companion bill, HB 4253, co-authored by Reps. Chris Kanady (R-Oklahoma City) and Kelly Hines (R-Oklahoma City), passed the Oklahoma State House of Representatives concurrently.
Both bills bar unions from obtaining employee personal contact information without written consent and end neutrality agreements that prevent employers from even speaking to their own employees during organizing drives.
“Radical teacher unions shouldn’t have a monopoly over the flow of information and resources available to teachers,” said Rusty Brown, special projects director for the Freedom Foundation. “Oklahoma teachers deserve to hear from every organization that wants to serve them, not just the union that already has the keys to the building.
“These bills don’t ban anyone,” he explained. “They just make sure no single organization gets to control the conversation.”
The Freedom Foundation has worked across the country to ensure public employees know their rights and have real choices. In Oklahoma, that work runs through the Teacher Freedom Alliance, which connects teachers with alternatives to traditional union membership.
Right now, unions enjoy privileged access to school facilities, employee contact lists, and district resources that no other organization can touch. These bills would change that.
“If unions get access, everyone gets access,” Brown said. “That’s what a level playing field looks like.”
