## Facts

- James McLaughlin and John Steele were probationary public-school teachers employed by School District No. 149 in Cook County, Illinois.
- Steele was not offered a second-year contract; McLaughlin was dismissed before completing his second year.
- The teachers alleged the adverse employment actions were taken because of their association with and membership in Local 1663 of the American Federation of Teachers (AFL-CIO).
- The complaint did not allege strikes, illegal picketing, or other unlawful/disruptive conduct by either teacher.
- The teachers sued the superintendent and the board members under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, seeking $100,000 in damages each for alleged violations of federal constitutional rights.
- Local 1663 and its parent union also sought injunctive relief barring discrimination against teachers who distributed union materials and solicited union membership.

## Issues

1. Whether the First Amendment protects public-school teachers’ right to form and join a labor union such that dismissal or nonrenewal for union affiliation states a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
2. Whether probationary (nontenured) status permits a school district to take adverse employment action for constitutionally protected associational activity.
3. Whether state-law immunity (including the Illinois Tort Immunity Act) can defeat a pleaded federal civil-rights claim at the motion-to-dismiss stage.

## Decision

- The Seventh Circuit reversed the district court’s dismissal and remanded.
- The court held that the First Amendment protects the right to form and join a labor union, absent illegal intent.
- The allegations that school officials dismissed or refused to rehire teachers because of union affiliation were sufficient to state a claim under § 1983.
- The court declined to affirm dismissal based on state tort immunity theories not resolved on an undeveloped record.

## Legal Principles

- Freedom of association under the First Amendment (as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment) protects public employees, including teachers, from unjustified retaliation for associational activity.
- Absent illegal intent or unlawful/disruptive conduct, an individual’s right to form and join a union is protected by the First Amendment.
- A public employer may not condition employment decisions on surrender of First Amendment rights; lack of tenure does not authorize retaliation for constitutionally protected activity.
- State immunity statutes cannot negate federal rights enforceable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; defenses such as good-faith/qualified immunity generally require factual development.

## Conclusion

The Seventh Circuit held that probationary teachers who alleged they were dismissed or nonrenewed due to union membership stated a viable § 1983 claim because union affiliation is protected First Amendment association absent illegal intent, requiring reversal of the pleadings-stage dismissal and remand for factual development.


McLaughlin v. Tilendis, 398 F.2d 287 (7th Cir. 1968)