As Louisiana teachers report for orientations and in-service days this month, most of them are walking into buildings where the union’s pitch hasn’t changed in years: sign here, and we’ll take your dues out of your paycheck.
What has changed is the law.
Act 756 took effect August 1. It gives teachers and other school employees a clear, enforceable path to stop union dues from being deducted from their wages — and puts the burden on the union, not the employee, to prove that path was ever explained.
WHAT THE LAW ACTUALLY DOES
Act 756 doesn’t ban union dues. It doesn’t ban unions. It doesn’t stop a single teacher from joining one. What it does is make sure the decision to pay — or to stop paying — genuinely belongs to the employee.
Under the new law:
- A teacher or school employee can direct their employer to stop deducting dues, and the employer must give the union immediate electronic notice of that decision.
- Unions must notify employees annually of their right to opt out — and the union carries the burden of proving it did so.
- All withholding authorizations must use a form prescribed by the attorney general, so nobody signs away a paycheck deduction buried in fine print.
- Employers may not deduct dues or fees without electronic confirmation of the employee’s authorization first.
- Unions cannot make employees waive the right to stop the deduction.
- The union — not the employee, not the taxpayer — bears the administrative costs of starting or stopping withholding.
The bill was authored by Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, and Rep. Michael Melerine, R-Shreveport. It cleared the Senate unanimously on final passage, 35–0, and the House 60–38, with a conference committee report adopted in both chambers. Gov. Jeff Landry signed it June 2. You can read the full text of the act here.
