Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court justices indicated today they are inclined to uphold a Washington state law preventing unions from using fees they get from workers for political activities. The case involves a few thousand teachers and other education employees who are in the bargaining unit and thus represented by the more than 70,000-member Washington Education Association — but who have chosen not to join the union. Workers can't be forced to join or pay for the union's political activism, but they can be charged a fee for labor negotiations that affect them. The narrow issue before the justices is whether,...

Here we go, folks. This is how to take some of the political power away from unions, a huge funder of the Dems. They use Republicans' money to fund the Dems. It must stop. The unions, particularly the teachers unions, will be Hillary's footsoldiers in 2008. You are going to love this. I am working with a teacher friend to have his money donated the the NRA Foundation. ================================================================= ================================================================= State workers can divert union dues to charity U.S., Ohio officials reach settlement in discrimination suit Saturday, September 02, 2006 Julie Carr Smyth ASSOCIATED PRESS State employees should be able...

Perhaps you've heard those mean-spirited, hyper attack ads on Denver radio slandering Colorado Secretary of State Gigi Dennis. They're sponsored by Clear Peak Colorado, one of those free-wheeling 527 groups that sprang up to get around campaign finance reform laws like McCain- Feingold. This one is bankrolled by Pat Stryker and Tim Gill, a pair of liberal Democrat fat cats who lavishly support a cornucopia of partisan and left-wing causes. According to Clear Peak's most recent IRS filing, through June of this year Stryker and Gill have poured in just under $180,000 to the cause. Former Colorado Democratic Party Chairman...

Washington, DC – Revised financial reporting requirements by the Department of Labor (DOL) are exposing union leaders’ spending habits with unprecedented clarity. Last Friday (3/31), most major unions filed their LM-2 financial disclosure forms with the government, and jaw-dropping expenditures are already easy to find. Using the search function on www.unionfacts.com, making sense of the mountains of union financial data is simple. A preliminary look revealed the following: Nearly $1.5 million in union members’ dues money was spent on golf. The Ironworkers AFL-CIO Local Union 40 spent $52,879 on a new Cadillac for a retiring president. $7.9 million of employee...

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, the Department of Labor is seriously enforcing its financial reporting requirements of unions and disclosing the results online. As a result, union members--and the public at large--now have the means to examine union finances in extraordinary detail and to learn about the outside activities and potential conflicts of interest of union officials. The purpose of this newfound transparency is to promote fiscal integrity and union democracy.Previously, the department's record of enforcing its reporting requirements was dismal. As recently as 2002, 43 percent of unions were either tardy in submitting their LM-2 forms or never turned...

1 - Are You Ready to Enlist and Fight the Great Battle? Part 2 - Teachers Have the Right to Take a Religious Exemption Part 3 - Here are some sample forms to opt out Part 4 - Listen to PSA radio ads regarding religious objection 5 - Southern California teacher ready to take on the union ========================================================================= We have an update from the previous episode. The teacher described in episode 5 has had a change of heart. No, he is not backing down. He is going to get right in the union thug faces. As an avid gun...

Merry Christmas: The Union Got You FiredBy Michael ReitzFrontPageMagazine.com | December 20, 2005 The Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE), the state’s largest state employee union, is asking agencies to terminate dozens of workers, some just in time for Christmas. Why is a union, charged with representing the interests of employees, demanding that they be fired?Simple: They haven’t paid their union dues. The state’s new collective bargaining agreements, negotiated in 2004, require all covered employees—some 53,000 general government workers—to join the union or pay nonmember “representation fees.” Hundreds of state workers objected to the mandatory dues, as they were not...

With Governor Mitt Romney's push for education reform stalled, a review of state records has found that the Massachusetts Teachers Association has used a little-known avenue in a state campaign finance law to quietly add legislative allies to fight the initiatives. A Globe examination of campaign finance records has found that the association pumped $341,849 into last year's legislative elections. That figure amounts to more than six times as much as any other group gave last year. The funding also provides a glimpse into how the state's largest teachers union has built itself into a powerhouse lobby on Beacon Hill....

Badly outspent seven years ago when they tried to curtail union money in state politics, supporters of "paycheck protection" are getting thrashed once more when it comes to the fundraising and spending wars. The public employee union-driven No on 75 campaign had banked $42.6 million and spent $41.2 million by Oct. 22, according to the most recent reports. The Yes on 75 side, meanwhile, raised only $2.3 million and spent $1.6 million. Proposition 75, however, has received a significant boost from Gov. Arnold Schwar-zenegger's California Recovery Team. According to its reports filed with the secretary of state's office, the governor's...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Entering a fight over union rights that could have national implications, Sen. John Kerry warned Thursday that a ballot initiative backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could tip the balance of democracy by muzzling the voice of working people. Proposition 75 would force public employee unions, such as those representing teachers, firefighters and prison guards, to seek written permission from members before using dues for political purposes. Kerry, speaking outside a downtown firehouse, said the initiative would condemn workers to "a completely unfair system." The proposal "represents part of an ongoing effort by the Republican Party to...

NEW! POLL SHOWS OVERWHELMING SUPPORT FOR REFORM A recent public opinion poll of likely voters in California shows overwhelming support of Propositions 73, 74, 75, 76, 77. Proposition 75- Paycheck Protection- received the highest level of support at 60% in favor. Among Likely voters: PROP 73 59% Yes 39% No 2% Undecided PROP 74 55% Yes 44% No 2% Undecided Prop 75 60% Yes 37% No 3% Undecided Prop 76 58% Yes 36% No 6% Undecided Prop 77 59% Yes 36% No 5% Undecided Conducted by: Survey USA Sponsoring News Organizations: KABC-TV Los Angeles , KPIX-TV San Francisco 1,200 California...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Actor-director Rob Reiner campaigned Thursday against Proposition 75, a ballot initiative pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that would require public employee unions to get permission to use members' dues for political purposes. Reiner, a Democrat and longtime political activist often mentioned as a potential challenger to Schwarzenegger, told an audience that Prop. 75, known as "paycheck protection" by its supporters, was designed purely to stifle political speech. "The things I care about - education, health care, energy, environment - I need, we all need, to have everybody's voice heard," Reiner told a small audience of teachers,...

A number of California Teachers have teamed up with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation (NRTW) to fight back against the union bosses who (without a vote of the membership) authorized an increase in their membership dues to fight the Governor’s reforms on the November special election ballot. Read More... Craig DeLuz Visit The Home of Uncommon Sense... www.craigdeluz.com

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Turning up the heat in his ongoing battle with public employee unions, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger officially endorsed a ballot measure Saturday that would require those unions to seek written permission from members before using dues money for political purposes. Democrats, the principal beneficiaries of labor union contributions, have viewed the measure as a virtual declaration of war on their political power in the state. Addressing an enthusiastic luncheon crowd at the state Republican Party convention, Schwarzenegger announced his support for the measure dubbed "Paycheck Protection," which will appear on the ballot as Proposition 75. The initiative...

Initiative Update as of June 7, 2005 Initiatives Qualified forthe Next Statewide Election Ballot     1067. (SA04RF0030, Amdt. #1-S) [REVISED]Termination of Minor's Pregnancy. Waiting Period and Parental Notification. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.Proponents: Paul E. Laubacher and Barbara R. Laubacher (916) 381-5222Amends California Constitution to bar abortion on unemancipated minor until 48 hours after physician notifies minor's parent/legal guardian, except in medical emergency or with parental waiver. Permits judicial waiver of notice based on clear and convincing evidence of minor's maturity or minor's best interests. Physician must report abortions performed on minors and State shall compile statistics. Authorizes monetary damages for violation....

New Web Site Gives Teachers Voice to “Stop the Teacher Tax” Teachers union to vote on $180 mandatory increase in dues FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Karen Hanretty April 7, 2005 The California Republican Party (CRP) today launched a new web site, www.StopTheTeacherTax.com, to draw attention to a new “teacher tax” that one of California’s most powerful unions plans to impose on teachers and educators statewide. California’s largest teachers union will meet Friday, April 8, 2005 in Los Angeles to vote on increasing the union dues of classroom teachers by $180 over the next three years. The union intends to raise...

This research was initiated by my girlffriend taking a new job (hospital represented by UAW). I mentioned to her there was a law that required unions to discount their dues to members that did not want to support the unions political agenda. After she as told by the Human Resources Dep't they were unaware of any such law and she would have to take it up with the union leaders. I guarantee that many locals are not fulfilling their legal requirement of the "Beck Law" notification. Weneed to tke this fight to them. We are researching the issue currently where...

Court strikes staggering blow to free speech TACOMA—In a stunning blow to teachers and other union workers, Washington’s Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that the state law prohibiting unauthorized use of non-member union fees for politics is unconstitutional. The case was on appeal after the Washington Education Association (WEA) was sued by the state Attorney General (AG) and found guilty in July 2001 of willfully violating RCW 42.17.760, which prohibits the union from using fees taken from non-member teachers to advance political causes without permission from those teachers. The WEA was ordered to pay $570,000 dollars in fines and penalties...