Say WA? Evergreen State ping
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Posted on 08/20/2006 9:05:39 AM PDT by truth49
"Gimme the money and shut up." That is what teachers in Washington State have been told by their union for the last decade. Now, these teachers, who refuse to cave in and pay are taking their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. All across the country unions wield enormous political clout by raiding the paychecks of the workers they claim to represent. In the 2004 presidential election cycle, organized labor raised a reported $199.5 million for their own political organizations. The AFL-CIO said it spent $44 million on voter mobilization; the Service Employees International Union spent $65 million. The National Education Association spent nearly $25 million on political activities and lobbying in 2005. In Washington state, for example, teachers have been embroiled in a conflict with the NEA-affiliated teacher's union over whether the union has a right to use nonmember teachers' dues however it chooses. (Nonmember teachers have resigned from the union but are forced to pay collective bargaining fees.) No one should be forced to pay for political causes with which they disagree. And according to Washington state campaign finance laws, the union may not use a nonmember teacher's dues for political purposes without his or her permission. In 2001, the state's Democratic attorney general sued the Washington Education Association (WEA) for willful violations of the law and won a $590,000 judgment against the union. In a blatant disregard for free speech, the Washington State Supreme Court ultimately declared the campaign finance law unconstitutional. As Justice Richard Sanders noted in his dissent, this horrendous decision "turns the First Amendment on its head" and endangers the rights of workers all across the country. The decision perverts the right to free speech, changing it from a shield protecting people from coercion into a sword unions can wield to their own advantage.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
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As a general remark it might be noted that most of us were cheated in our public education. We didn't get reading, writing, or arithmetic to a level where we could use any of it with power. If we have any skills in reading, writing, or arithmetic it came mostly from our own actions outside of school.
I would love for the Supreme Court to rule that teachers union dues cannot be used to fund political campaigns.
What should come out of this is that the Supreme Court should rule that taxes cannot go to fund institutions with political agendas.
This includes the ACLU, NPR and other programs.
Say WA? Evergreen State ping
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Ping sionnsar if you see a Washington state related thread.
The EFF is doing a good job of fighting this continuing battle. When I substitued there were hateful things posted in teachers' lounges about EFF and Bob Williams. Many teachers are brainwashed big-time re: funding in the school districts. It must have been difficult for any R to say a word in that overbearing democrat political environment. They shouldn't have to be subject to that kind of discrimination.
Is this on the the high court calendar now?
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