| 2002 PRESS RELEASES/ADVISORIES
Washington Business
Journal
Press Release
December 23, 2002
The purpose of this publication is to inform Washington businesses
of state policy that will impact them and to provide recommendations for
action that will help resolve the state's anti-business climate...
EFF launches Waste
Watchers website
Press Release
December 17, 2002
The Evergreen Freedom Foundation launched a new Waste Watchers website
today dedicated to exposing and resolving waste in government. The new site
chronicles a long list of waste and mismanagement in state government...
EFF will not appeal
NEA sanctions case
Press Release
December 17, 2002
Despite disagreeing with the order, the Evergreen Freedom Foundation
(EFF) has agreed to pay $15,000 in sanctions to the National Education Association
(NEA) for what Thurston County Superior Court Judge Daniel Berschauer...
Locke's 2003-05 budget
News Advisory
December 16, 2002
OLYMPIA, WA—Governor Gary Locke will announce the details of his
no-new-taxes budget tomorrow morning, leaving legislators to decide whether
to approve or modify his spending plan. The governor has hinted that planned
cuts will be painful, but with a $2-$3 billion deficit looming...
WEA refunds thousands
to teachers
Press Release
November 22, 2002
Thousands of Washington public school teachers and classified staff
received refunds this week from the Washington Education Association (WEA)
as a result of a Thurston County Superior Court order last year...
Washington’s
Governor Locke proposes innovative deficit solution
News Advisory
November 15, 2002
With 34 states facing budget deficits that total nearly $60 billion
collectively, governors and state lawmakers are scrambling to find solutions.
A new budget model announced yesterday by Washington State Governor Gary
Locke may be one of the most innovative. Washington is facing a deficit
of $2.5 to $3 billion (10-12 percent of total state revenue) in the upcoming
2003-05 biennium.
EFF urges legislators
to work with governor's new budget model
News Advisory
November 13, 2002
Governor Gary Locke will discuss the new budget model developed by
his budget team at a press conference tomorrow afternoon. The Evergreen
Freedom Foundation has reviewed this model and considers it one of the nation's
most innovative approaches to solving state deficits.
Attorney General
files suit against NEA
Press Release
October 4, 2002
OLYMPIA, WA - Washington State Attorney General Christine Gregoire
filed a lawsuit against the National Education Association late yesterday
afternoon in the Thurston County Superior Court...
PDC refers union
case to AG
Press Release
October 2, 2002
OLYMPIA, WA—Washington’s Public Disclosure Commission (PDC)
found the National Education Association (NEA) guilty today of “apparent
multiple violations” of a state law that requires the union to get
permission from non-member teachers before spending their money to advance
political causes...
EFF faces sanctions
in NEA case
Press Release
September 20, 2002
OLYMPIA, WA—In a decision this morning, Thurston County Superior
Court Judge Berschauer granted a motion by the National Education Association
(NEA) requesting that the Evergreen Freedom Foundation pay the union’s
attorney fees for what he called an improper use of the judicial process...
Judge throws NEA
case back to PDC
Press Release
August 23, 2002
In a ruling this morning, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Paula
Casey remanded a campaign finance case brought by the Evergreen Freedom
Foundation against the National Education Association back to the state
Public Disclosure Commission...
Local WEA president
got bonuses from school administration for "resolving faculty issues"
Press Release
August 22, 2002
PASCO, WA—The Washington Education Association (WEA) and State
Attorney General's office have agreed to settle an unfair labor practices
complaint after a Columbia Basin Community College (CBC) professor discovered
the union's local president was receiving a $4,500 bonus "for work
that directly benefits the college in resolving faculty issues...
Washington "Cost
of Government Day" comes four days later this year on July 13
News Advisory
July 3, 2002
Washington's "Cost of Government Day" comes on July 13 this
year, four days later than last, giving our state the dubious ranking of
second highest in the nation when it comes to government bills...
Supreme Court: Children
trump system...finally!
Press Release
June 27, 2002
In a 5-4 ruling issued this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld
the constitutionality of the Cleveland school voucher program. The program
gives parents a stipend for a portion of the tax dollars that support their
child’s education, allowing them to use that stipend to move their
children out of schools they believe are failing their children...
Bob Williams testifies
before Congress on NEA’s illegal politics
Press Release
June 20, 2002
WASHINGTON, DC — Bob Williams, president of the Washington state-based
Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF), testified before the U.S. House of Representatives
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections today. Williams discussed the political
power of the National Education Association (NEA) and the illegal and illegitimate
methods the union uses to build and maintain its power, including the unauthorized
use of dues taken from unwilling teachers...
Union caves, pastor
won’t send dues to ACLU
Press Release
June 6, 2002
SUNNYSIDE, WA - Washington state’s Public School Employees (PSE)
union announced today it will not try to force Reverend Ivan Poisel to send
his dues to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Rev. Poisel, a part-time
school bus driver and pastor of a Church of God congregation in Sunnyside,
WA, has religious objections to the PSE’s activities. Since paying
dues or fees to the union is mandatory, state and federal law protect religious
liberty by allowing objectors to designate a charity to receive their money
instead...
State’s largest
independent labor union orders pastor to send dues to ACLU
Press Release
June 4, 2002
SUNNYSIDE, WA - The Public School Employees (PSE) union has ordered
a religious objector to send his dues to the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) instead of a local food bank. Reverend Ivan Poisel, a part-time school
bus driver in Sunnyside and pastor of a Church of God congregation, has
religious objections to the activities of PSE, the state’s largest
independent labor union...
WEA orders teachers
and their representatives to be quiet, or else . . .
Press Release
May 21, 2002
After an annual arbitration hearing last week, the Washington Education
Association (WEA) drafted a retroactive “gag order” for staff
of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) and several other individuals.
The order, signed by attorneys from the WEA and an American Arbitration
Association arbitrator, attempts to prohibit teachers and their representatives
from ever talking about what took place at the union’s hearing...
Your paycheck is
finally yours
News Advisory
May 8, 2002
Tomorrow, taxpayers in Washington will earn the first dollars of the
year not earmarked for their tax burden. Washingtonians worked 129 days
this year to reach to reach Tax Freedom Day. Only taxpayers in Connecticut
have to work longer in 2002 to pay their total tax burden...
Court of Appeals
ruling means loophole for Big Labor, Big
Business
News Advisory
April 23, 2002
The Washington State Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the Washington
Education Association does not have to report its general fund political
expenditures under requirements that govern political action committees
(PAC). The Appeals Court unanimously upheld a lower court ruling issued
by Thurston County Superior Court Judge W. T. McPhee in 1999. In his decision,
McPhee stated that “the amount spent [by an organization on politics] is
meaningful only in relation to the total expenditures of the organization...
EFF files suit against
NEA
Press Release
April 9, 2002
OLYMPIA, WA - The Evergreen Freedom Foundation filed a lawsuit in the
Thurston County Superior Court yesterday against the National Education
Association. The foundation’s lawsuit charges the national union with taking
money from agency fee paying* teachers in Washington state and illegally
using it to influence state elections. EFF decided to file suit after staff
of the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission found NEA guilty of
violations and recommended the Attorney General seek a settlement with “substantial”
penalties, but stated that: “If a settlement cannot be reached . . . staff
do not recommend that the Attorney General proceed with litigation based
on the current budget cutbacks and the cost of such litigation...
Latest finding of
guilt panics teachers' union
Press Release
April 8, 2002
OLYMPIA — One day before the state’s Public Disclosure Commission is
expected to announce that the National Education Association has illegally
used teachers’ money to influence Washington state elections, officials
of the Washington Education Association have launched a massive $90,000
negative attack campaign against the Evergreen Freedom Foundation...
State Auditor uncovers
serious problems in state’s management of federal funds
News Advisory
April 4, 2002
The State Auditor recently released a report showing serious deficiencies
in the state’s management of federal funds. Some of the findings may put
the state’s federal funding at risk. The major problems include noncompliance
with federal regulations, internal control problems, and weaknesses in program
oversight...
EFF considers mandatory
membership for public employees
April Fool's Day
April 1, 2002
Citing a recent report issued by the Washington Education Association,
the Evergreen Freedom Foundation today announced it is giving serious consideration
to the merits of mandatory public employee membership and automatic payroll
deduction, despite its long-standing position that such practices are a
violation of individual liberty and free speech...
Brown budget looks
red
News Advisory
March 6, 2002
Senator Lisa Brown’s budget doesn’t work because: It is unsustainable.
For new expenditures, Brown’s budget allows an unrealistic $258 million
next biennium and $169 million in the unrestricted reserve account for the
current biennium. It will potentially ruin our state’s credit rating. The
bond rating firms of Standard & Poor, Moody’s and Fitch take dim views of
states that run budget and cash deficits and borrow too much on unsure revenue
sources. Moody’s has already sent us a warning...
State budget headlines
News Advisory
March 1, 2002
Deficit growing at a rate of $2,188 per minute, $131,250 per hour,
$3,150,000 per day.* Governor Locke’s response: he sends emails to state
workers and issues non-binding directives asking them to cut their spending.
Legislature’s response: lawmakers talk about tax increases and wait for
the governor to do something...
Murphy's Law: violations
of Budget and Accounting Act or securities fraud
News Advisory
February 26, 2002
The Office of Financial Management’s response to EFF’s recent charges
of lawbreaking by Governor Locke and State Treasurer Murphy has been flippant.
But according to Murphy’s own office, he and the governor are either violating
the Budget and Accounting Act or there is a serious case of securities fraud.
They can’t have it both ways...
Governor and Treasurer
in violation of Budget and Accounting Act
Press Conference
February 25, 2002
Violations of state law and apparent willful negligence on the part
of Governor Gary Locke and State Treasurer Mike Murphy are a primary cause
of the state’s current $812 million cash deficit (projected to climb to
$2 billion by November) according to the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. State
law prohibits running a cash deficit in any state fund and requires the
governor to make immediate across-the-board cuts to eliminate the shortfall
as soon as he is aware of a projected or actual cash deficit. Presently,
this means a 10% or greater cut in current expenditures...
Governor needs to
issue Executive Order -- NOW!
February 20, 2002
Last fall, our governor sent out memos to state agencies urging them to
reduce hiring and other spending. It didn’t work. In the face of recent
data showing increasing revenue shortfalls, the governor has replaced memos
with agency directives. This falls far short of the necessary action. In
fact, employee groups potentially affected by the cutbacks are already threatening
negative consequences, like strikes and suspension of student tests...
Locke's response
to forecast: too little, too late
February 19, 2002
Perhaps the biggest surprise about today’s $347 million revenue shortfall
announcement is that it is a surprise. Governor Locke responded to the newest
crisis by mandating an across-the-board hiring freeze, restrictions on travel,
and the zeroing-out of new purchases. As the governor said, “Time is running
out. The longer we wait the deeper the cuts must be...
No waste left in
the budget to cut? Think again.
February 12, 2002
The Evergreen Freedom Foundation has obtained the draft of a legislative
audit reviewing the Developmental Disabilities Division (DDD) of DSHS. The
audit was conducted by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee
(JLARC). Audit results echoed the scope and type of the findings revealed
in a report released last week by State Auditor Brian Sonntag...
New state audit report
reveals massive waste and mismanagement
Press Conference
February 7, 2002
The Evergreen Freedom Foundation will host a press conference TODAY
(Thursday, February 7th) at 3:15pm in the Senate Rules Room to discuss the
startling findings of the State Auditor’s annual report. Among the facts
revealed by the State Auditor’s report: The last year of the budget cycle
- long before September 11th - the state spent $1.1 billion more than its
actual revenue...
Unions push for bill
to gut paycheck protection
February 4, 2002
Labor unions in Washington state are pushing for a bill that will gut the
state’s voter-approved “paycheck protection” law. HB 2822, introduced by
Representative Sandra Romero (D), seeks to amend the requirements of Initiative
134, the campaign finance reform initiative passed by 72 percent of the
state’s voters in 1992...
EFF files complaint
against NEA
January 31, 2002
The Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) today filed a complaint with the
Washington State Attorney General against the National Education Association
(NEA), charging the mammoth teachers’ union with violating Washington state
campaign finance laws...
Boeing: "Washington
is not competitive."
January 28, 2002
Boeing executives make no bones about it: Washington is not a competitive
place for them to do business, and if lawmakers do not resolve the state’s
anti-business climate the company will pull out entirely. In January 16th
testimony before the House Labor Committee, Boeing CEO Alan Mulally echoed
the findings of EFF’s recently published Business Matters series: Washington’s
business policies stifle, rather than stimulate, the market and economy...
National union refunds
Washington teachers
January 23, 2002
The Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) has just learned that the National
Education Association (NEA) - one of the most powerful unions in the nation
- is sending thousands of Washington state teachers a refund for money taken
from their paychecks and spent on political purposes...
Where does the levy
money go?
January 18, 2002
By Lynn Harsh
School levy elections are just around the corner. What many voters do not
know is that most levy dollars are spent on something other than what was
advertised to get their vote. Contrary to what we are told, most districts
do not spend all of the money allocated to them on basic education. They
use it instead to leverage other non-basic-education expenditures...
EFF to unveil study
on Growth Management Act
January 16, 2002
A new study being released tomorrow by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation
(EFF), an Olympia-based policy research organization, reveals that Washington’s
decade-old Growth Management Act (GMA) is a case of good intentions gone
awry. EFF's executive director, Lynn Harsh, will be presenting the foundation's
analysis of the GMA’s impact on rural counties at a Rural Caucus meeting
of state legislators tomorrow...
Perspective of the
trust we hold
Remarks of John Andrews, Colorado Senate Minority Leader
January 14, 2002
There’s just one word I hope you would remember from my comments today –
just the one word – PERSPECTIVE. A good way to keep perspective is to take
the long view, so let me call three witnesses from the pages of history
– KOA radio’s legendary Pete Smythe – America’s second president, John Adams
– and ancient Israel’s King David...
Teachers to pay more
than expected for WEA's law breaking
January 4, 2002
In a Thurston County Superior Court hearing today, the Washington Education
Association (WEA) was ordered to pay $190,000 in legal fees to the Attorney
General’s (AG) office for a lawsuit that resulted in a $400,000 fine against
the union last July...
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