05/11/2026
House Bill 1217, sponsored by Representative John Hughes (R-District 13, Minnehaha) worked to specifically oppress the rights of teachers to unionize and their right to fight for fair treatment in the workplace. The bill would have stopped teachers from:
❌Using payroll deductions to easily and automatically pay their professional union dues,
❌Being reached by their union on their school emails,
❌Learning about their union rights in a school meeting or interaction with union representatives,
❌Accessing union updates or recruitment materials through their work email or work mailbox,
❌Hearing any support or endorsements for their union by school leadership or employers,
❌or advocating for colleagues on paid time, even for essential union business and representation.
Teachers are more than capable of making their own decisions about their own workplace, and in a state ranked near the bottom for adequate teacher pay, they deserve the right to collectively organize. These 27 Republicans tried to take that away from them.
These are the 27 Republicans in the South Dakota House who voted to strip teachers' right to unionize.
House Bill 1217, sponsored by Representative John Hughes (R-District 13, Minnehaha) worked to specifically oppress the rights of teachers to unionize and their right to fight for fair treatment in the workplace. The bill would have stopped teachers from:
❌Using payroll deductions to easily and automatically pay their professional union dues,
❌Being reached by their union on their school emails,
❌Learning about their union rights in a school meeting or interaction with union representatives,
❌Accessing union updates or recruitment materials through their work email or work mailbox,
❌Hearing any support or endorsements for their union by school leadership or employers,
❌or advocating for colleagues on paid time, even for essential union business and representation.
Teachers are more than capable of making their own decisions about their own workplace, and in a state ranked near the bottom for adequate teacher pay, they deserve the right to collectively organize. These 27 Republicans tried to take that away from them.
