Barbara Madsen, a Christian teacher in the Chino Valley, Calif., school district, refused to join the California Teachers Association for religious reasons. The teachers union required Madsen to pay an equivalent of union dues to a charity. Madsen objected to paying the full amount of union dues, claiming that this would be discriminatory.

Under the union’s collective bargaining agreement, any employee who objects on religious, political or other grounds to union political activities may avoid paying for those activities. This protects their right to free speech, and is generally available to union members everywhere. Many Christians object to labor union support for abortion and gay rights. Those who object are called “agency fee payers,” and pay only the amount of union dues that supports actual representation.

In Madsen’s case, the agency fee payers paid about $200 less than the $782 she was required to pay. Madsen contends that it is discriminatory to require her to pay more, on account of her religious objection to union membership, than others pay whose beliefs only require them to abstain from supporting union political activities.

A Federal Court in April disagreed and dismissed her discrimination claim. The case is now on appeal to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The issue will not end there. Don Coleman is a Seventh-day Adventist who is filing a similar charge in Texas. Eventually, this issue may go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether those with total religious objections to labor unions can be compelled to pay more than those with partial objections.