2006 PRESS RELEASES

March 15, 2006

WA Supreme Court to issue ruling in case against Washington Education Association

OLYMPIA —The Washington Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling Thursday, March 16, on a case against the Washington Education Association use of non-member dues.

The case was an appeal of the 2003 Court of Appeals ruling declaring the state law prohibiting unauthorized use of non-member union dues for politics as unconstitutional. The decision negated part of campaign finance Initiative 134, which was approved by 72 percent of Washington’s voters in 1992.

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 Thurston County Superior Court imposed a $400,000 penalty on the WEA.

Since the state was unable to request refunds for the 5,000 to 8,000 eligible teachers, the Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) and the National Right to Work Foundation pursued a refund for them in a separate class action lawsuit.

The WEA appealed rulings in both cases. Attorneys for the WEA argued that money taken from teachers’ paychecks belongs to the union and any attempts to limit their unauthorized use of teachers’ money is an abridgement of the union’s free speech rights.

By contrast, the Attorney General’s office focused on the free speech rights of teachers, arguing that the union’s practice of spending teachers’ money on politics without their consent amounts to “forced political speech.”

In a 2-1 ruling June 24, 2003, Washington’s Court of Appeals ruled that the law violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, saying the First Amendment free speech rights of union official supersedes the First Amendment free speech rights of teachers.

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a long-time advocate of free speech and fair elections, filed the original complaint against the WEA that sparked the Attorney General’s case.

The consolidated case:
Supreme Court No. 74268-5 - State ex rel. Public Disclosure Commission v. Washington Education Association

Supreme Court No. 74316-9 - Gary Davenport, et al., v. Washington State Education Association

RCW 42.17.760 - Agency shop fees as contributions.
A labor organization may not use agency shop fees paid by an individual who is not a member of the organization to make contributions or expenditures to influence an election or to operate a political committee, unless affirmatively authorized by the individual.

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