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For years the WEA has denied that it spends dues money on politics, and proudly
maintained its status as a democratic organization with full member involvement.
But when they found themselves in court last May, the truth of the matter emerged.
"No WEA dues are used for political contributions."
"WEA dues are put into the general fund and commingled. There is no
way to identify what expenditures are made out of which segments of the dues
revenue. The membership does not vote on how these are appropriated, how they
are expended. They are not even advised in any detail as to how these monies
are expended. And it is a discretionary ad hoc decision by Mr. Seibert to
write checks for ballot propositions or candidates."
May 27, 1999, Closing Arguments, EFF v. WEA
"Total directly allocated [election-affecting] expenditures equaled
$548,444. An additional amount must be added to political expenses to account
for the salaries of staff members who performed some work on political activities...The
additional amount to be added for these political activities [not including
benefits] is $147,717...The decision to make [political] contributions were
[sic] made by the Executive Director and President...there is no evidence
that the membership held an expectation that such payments would be made...
Based upon these findings...I conclude that WEA is not a political committee."
August 27, 1999, Court's Decision, EFF v. WEA
"...regular monthly dues of card-carrying WEA members do cover activities
in the political arena."
"First of all, we are not talking about money here, we are talking
about electronic transfers, checks.... [W]e put the NEA money in and six weeks
later, we took it out, in the exact amount and we gave it to the NO Committee."
"WEA employees [at union headquarters] currently have excellent salary,
benefits and employment protection in their contract which if widely known
by the membership would cause significant unrest within the Association."
"This is a copy of the postcard [questionnaire] EFF recently mailed
to WEA members. The Suggested answers are marked."
"I am the General Counsel for the Washington Education Association...
You are hereby warned... we will sue you to hold you liable for tortuous interference."
"...68,000 public school employees who voluntarily pay dues to the
Washington Education Association"
"Teachers' right to be involved is affirmed"
"WEA's members include 68,000 public school teachers, educational support
personnel, and college faculty members, all of whom voluntarily joined WEA"
"Foundation distorts truth in WEA case" Sept. 1999
"WEA is a democratic organization in every way. Membership is voluntary,
and all members have a say in how their dues are spent."
"Why should unions bother with PACs if they can just open their treasuries
to the campaigns? Gifts in the coming election will deserve some scrutiny."
"It's true that teachers unions have been able to intimidate legislators
into ignoring the Beck decision. But an independent judiciary is slowly putting
some muscle on the decade-old Beck decision that enshrined the right of union
members to make sure their money isn't spent on causes and candidates they
abhor."
"Teachers have a First Amendment right not to join the union and to
pay no more than the proven cost of collective bargaining activities. The
principle is simple: Free speech not only means the freedom to voice your
political views, but also the freedom from being forced to pay for someone
else's."
"...why can unions run over their membership in a way other organizations
can't?"
"It's time to once again look at the provisions in this state's campaign
finance reporting law (Initiative 134) and bring some clarity to this muddy
mess. Legislators, and judges, should always err on the side of too much,
not too little, disclosure to the public."
"But a state judge has ruled that while the WEA did divert funds, it
was innocent of failing to secure permission from members because it isn't
their employer."
"Yes, but that doesn't make the union above the law and the will of Washington
voters. When it comes to holding on to political power, the WEA has no such
shame."
"Characterizing the controversy over its campaign financing as ideological
warfare makes for good sound bites, but it's an injustice to WEA's many members
and sympathizers who believe union leaders have abused political power at
the expense of dedicated teachers."
"Organizations as well-funded and sophisticated as the WEA and NEA
can reasonably be expected to collect and report their political money legally."
"Gregoire has indicated that she will hence forth overlook future transgressions.
The unions are free to return to their merry ways, passing out coercively
acquired money and influencing people. Initiative 134 will have been rendered
absolutely toothless."
"we believe a proper law ought to apply to union dues."
"To the extent that the unions' political voice is based on dues from
unwilling members, that voice is false."
"Win or lose, the union is not acting in good faith when it uses employees'
mandatory union dues on politics without their consent."
"Union members should have an ironclad guarantee in the law their dues
cannot be used for candidates or causes they disagree with."
"The WEA "made what we feel was a deliberate attempt to circumvent
134. It was a well-thought-out plan to get around the problem of the checkoff."
Melissa Warheit [Executive Director] Public Disclosure Commission"
"In this case, a win for the union is a big loss for members' pocketbooks
and right to free speech."
"Evergreen has taken the right step and shed light into the dark recesses
of the education establishment."
"the political balance the unions fight to preserve requires forced
donations. They know most workers wouldn't contribute to their brand of politics,
given the choice. The WEA's experience shows that. So, workers of the world
pay tribute."
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