ha ha!
Posted on 07/02/2002 10:40:22 AM PDT by kattracks
(CNSNews.com) - A Washington state Superior Court Judge has fined the National Education Association for allegedly taking union dues paid by nonunion teachers and illegally spending them for political purposes.
Judge Daniel Berschauer issued his default judgment after NEA lawyers missed a court deadline to respond to a lawsuit filed by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.
The EFF is a policy research organization based in Olympia, Washington. It has been in a legal battle for over a year with the NEA, contending that the union has been using non-members' dues for political purposes.
EFF sued the NEA after the staff of the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission found that the NEA was violating state law but declined to prosecute.
Berschauer ordered the NEA to stop collecting fees from nonmembers until getting what he called "affirmative authorization" that would allow the use of fees for political purposes, including campaign contributions.
"We are astounded that the NEA missed or ignored this deadline," said Bob Williams, EFF's president. "Apparently NEA officials think complying with state laws isn't a high enough priority to merit close attention, but we expect this judgment to remind them that we value teachers' rights here in Washington."
The ruling also astounded the NEA. Spokesperson Kathleen Lyons told the "Olympian" newspaper she thought the union had until Monday to respond to the court filing deadlines.
Lyons and most NEA officials are in Dallas this week for the NEA's annual convention.
Williams thinks the NEA will "make an excuse for missing the deadline and ask the court to vacate the judgment in the next few weeks."
But EFF contends that the NEA was served complaint papers back in April, which meant the deadline for responding to the suit was June 23.
Berschauer's ruling against the union orders it to pay $800,000 in civil fines to the state, $3,103 in investigation costs to the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission and $10,500 in attorney fees and costs to the EFF.
This was the second setback for the NEA in Washington State this year.
In January, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Gary Tabor ordered the WEA to pay $190,000 in legal fees to the Washington State attorney general's office and reimburse another $143,000 to teachers for illegally spending union dues on political causes.
The WEA, the state affiliate of the National Education Association, was fined $400,000 in July 2001 for the same offense.
Last Friday, the Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays known (PFOX), a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting those families whose lives have been affected by homosexuality, filed a sexual orientation complaint with the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights in Washington.
NEA spokesperson Kathleen Lyons said the union would have no comment until it has studied that case.
See Earlier Story:
Teachers' Union Object Of Discrimination Complaint (1 July 2002)
E-mail a news tip to Jim Burns.
Send a Letter to the Editor about this article.
The NEA isn't so bright...never has been.
Heh heh.
Oh you say they were taught by NEA teachers, never mind.
That's why they do such a good job of teaching our children.
On another front, the contents of this thread seem to prove beyond a doubt that there really is a God.
This outfit is nothing more than an DNC extortion ring hiding behind your kids.
VOUCHERS NOW!
I'm shocked! ;-)
There's also no "an" before "DNC"...Remember the vowel rules?
Well, actually if you don't respond to a civil suit you are automatically considered liable. Trust the arrogant criminals at the NEA to ignore this. They're so used to getting their own way and so overweeningly arrogant that they can't imagine that any judge would dare punish them.
What fools. Dangerous fools for sure. But fools nontheless. After all, if they actually achieve the socialist slavestate that they desire, who will build all the luxury items that they think they deserve?
ha ha!
Funny how the state ends up with the goods. Shouldn't all this money go to the injured party - the conservatives who had their rights violated?
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