2007 PRESS RELEASES

April 13, 2007

Senate passes HB 2079 to preserve union “power”

OLYMPIA—On Friday the Senate passed House Bill 2079. HB 2079 amends a statute that requires unions to get permission from nonmembers before spending their fees on political activity. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing the constitutionality of this statute in two cases brought by teachers and the state Attorney General against the Washington Education Association.

In a letter sent to lawmakers, the Office of the Attorney General warned that HB 2079 could expose the state to further litigation by adopting a “constitutionally forbidden” accounting practice.

During the committee executive session on March 29, Sen. Margarita Prentice (D-11th) recommended passage: “In union there’s strength, and there’s a reason why unions exist, and why they have the kind of power—and I think we need to do everything we can to preserve that,” she said.

The Senate rejected an amendment that would have guaranteed individual teachers the right to divert their dues to a charity of their choice. The Senate also rejected an amendment that would have allowed for a referendum of the bill. Speaking against the amendment, Sen. Ken Jacobsen (D-46th) said, “sometimes the people make mistakes.” Sen. Karen Keiser (D-33rd) suggested that protecting the Washington Education Association from litigation is an emergency.

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation’s Michael Reitz offered the following comments:

“House Bill 2079 ignores the First Amendment rights of workers in order to expand union power. The bill is premature when the U.S. Supreme Court could rule on the constitutionality of the law at any time. Passage of this bill virtually guarantees continued litigation.”

“House Bill 2079 attempts to mitigate an adverse ruling from the Supreme Court. The bill uses an accounting gimmick to gut the law of its effect—all but eliminating the requirement on unions to get permission before spending nonmember dues on politics.

“The Senate blatantly ignored concerns from constituents, teachers and the attorney general in passing this legislation. If lawmakers were truly concerned about clarifying the law, they would have taken input from all stakeholders—not just unions.”

Additional Information

  • Attorney General letter regarding HB 2079
  • EFF testimony against HB 2079 (audio starts at 2:04:10)
  • Policy Highligher on HB 2079

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