Posted by
John R. LaPlante on Wednesday, September 27, 2006 5:14:00 PM
If you’re a teacher in a public school, you probably have to pay union dues or fees. That money may go not only to collective bargaining purposes—bad enough for individuals who don’t like the idea of professionals being unionized—but for political activity. The U.S. Supreme Court has announced that it will decide whether teacher unions must explicitly get the approval of teachers before collecting money for political purposes.
The idea, called paycheck protection, was overwhelming approved by voters in Washington state in 1992. But it’s been the subject of political and legal disputes ever since. A leading advocate of the idea has been the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, which today applauded the move. The foundation’s Michael Reitz said that “This is excellent news and a first step toward securing the First Amendment free speech rights of teachers and 17 million union-represented employees across the country.”
The Foundation created www.teachers-vs-union.org as a one-stop shop for documents related to the case. It has found the Washington Education Association making several inaccurate claims about its activities.
Regardless of what one thinks of the politics pursued by the WEA, the case points to the need for transparency for unions, and accountability. The Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a member organization in the State Policy Network, has been are the front of the effort.