For years, the Oklahoma government has provided an unusual perk to teachers’ unions by using taxpayer dollars to process dues-withholding for the union—a practice not done for most other membership groups a teacher may join.

An effort to end that perk failed to advance from a Senate committee this week when several Republican lawmakers joined Democrats to preserve the special treatment granted teachers’ unions.

Senate Bill 62, by state Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, would have prohibited public school districts from “making payroll deductions for either or both professional organization dues and political contributions.”

“Here’s what Senate Bill 62 does: It stops taxpayers subsidizing far-left teacher unions,” said Bergstrom, R-Adair. “It ends automatic deductions that tend to pressure individuals into funding ideologies they probably reject. It forces unions to adapt like private entities should. It stops school districts from processing political contributions. It means no more reimbursing errors or managing union logistics for the school districts. It puts parents and community values first by no longer using school dollars—tax dollars—to help unions raise funds to push their left-wing agenda.”

Under SB 62, teachers would be free to join a union and pay dues, but the process would be entirely between the teacher and the union, the same as the payment of membership dues to any other private-sector group a teacher may join.

Bergstrom noted that he worked as a teacher for a “couple of decades” and said the current system makes it easier for union officials to pressure teachers to join even if a teacher may not agree with the union’s agenda.

“I do know that in some circumstances when you’re in certain communities, the pressure is much greater for you to join a union, and they have a very significant presence in many of the communities to take and try to push you to do that,” Bergstrom said. “This just removes that type of pressure and allows you to make that decision on your own—and to take and pay for it yourself, just like you do for other things.”

He noted that the Oklahoma Education Association directs roughly $3 million annually in member dues to the National Education Association (NEA), which he noted has promoted “left-wing ideology” in schools.

The NEA recently hosted an anti-Trump webinar for teachers that focused on “defending LGBTQ+ civil rights in public schools,” keeping U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement “out of schools,” and opposing school choice.

At the NEA’s annual meeting, held in summer 2024, delegates attacked states like Oklahoma that prohibit males from competing in women’s athletics or using women’s bathrooms in public schools.

SB 62 would have also affected state affiliates of the American Federation of Teachers, which was a primary proponent of prolonged school closures during COVID that caused massive learning loss, as well as Professional Oklahoma Educators (POE).

The head of POE is married to Mike Tinney, who Gov. Kevin Stitt recently appointed to the State Board of Education.

SB 62 failed on a 3-8 vote of the Senate Education Committee. Five Republicans joined Democrats to preserve teacher unions’ ability to have dues withholding conducted at taxpayer expense: state Sens. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin; Kelly Hines, R-Edmond; Roland Pederson, R-Burlington; Aaron Reinhardt, R-Jenks; and Kendal Sacchieri, R-Blanchard.

While Republicans in the Oklahoma Senate wavered at even a simple change in the dues-collection process, Republicans elsewhere have been far more willing to advance conservative legislation.

Officials in Utah recently enacted a law that banned collective bargaining for teachers' unions and other government employees.