Election results no surprise for EFF

We at Evergreen Freedom Foundation predicted in early 1998 that Republicans would lose -- and big -- in the fall elections, thanks to a Washington state Attorney General decision to allow union bosses virtually unbridled access to workers’ general union dues monies.

In a March 1998 speech to Spokane College Women, EFF Executive Director Lynn Harsh foretold of the Republican loss: "You can take this to the bank: Thanks to the recent Attorney General’s decision not to protect teachers’ paychecks, certain issues and candidates will experience election day losses during the next few years that will seem baffling in size. This is in big part because union bosses have developed an excellent campaign machine -- one of the best I’ve ever seen. And they are paying for their machine through involuntary wage deductions from their members. Voters will not know what has happened or why it has happened until it is too late."

Even Washington State Labor Council attorney James Oswald acknowledged the importance of EFF’s lawsuit regarding illegal campaign money laundering and paycheck plundering on the part of the National Education Association and its state affiliate, the Washington Education Association. "This case (EFF’s lawsuit) is a watershed regarding how unions may finance political activity in this state. ... The balance of political power in this state could be shifted dramatically," Oswald said.

Win or lose, a fair political fight is all any citizen should expect in this country. But the results of a fair political fight are not what we experienced in this year’s election. And we can expect worse next year.

How do we know this? At EFF, we know from the more than 20,000 documents we obtained from lawsuits against the NEA/WEA that the teachers union has played and is playing a lead role in coordinating political campaigns and get-out-the-vote efforts. That the union is a highly organized political machine wouldn’t matter if it was a voluntary endeavor. In fact, it would be admirable.

In many of Washington’s larger counties, the NEA/WEA-paid campaign workers conducted precinct committee officer training; invited, hosted and conducted campaign strategy meetings with coalition partners; and organized and operated get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts. In fact, the WEA’s voter profile and GOTV database extends right down to individual school districts. Some of this political activity was reported to the Public Disclosure Commission, but most was not. If past activity is any indication (and we are investigating this now), dozens of campaign workers paid by the NEA/WEA will have been working full time on elections but will not have reported their activities to the PDC. Further, almost all of the NEA/WEA campaign efforts were paid with money withheld from unwilling members’ paychecks.

No person or entity, regardless of ideological or political label, should forcibly remove money from an employee’s paycheck to be spent on politics without the employee’s consent. Each person’s First Amendment rights to free speech mean that not only do we have the Constitutional right to speak our opinions, we have the right to refuse to speak someone else’s opinion or view. Voters deserve to know who is underwriting this year’s election, but thanks to our own Attorney General’s February decision regarding how unions obtain campaign funds, much of that information will never surface.

We agree with Washington State Labor Council attorney James Oswald: If EFF succeeds in its lawsuit and is able to protect the free speech rights of Washington state teachers, union bosses will find their political coffers vastly depleted, and the balance of power will shift dramatically. This is because volunteers and informed voters will once again be able to reclaim their voice. Then, voters will get to hear the rightfully and honestly earned voices of political parties and candidates. And when such a day arrives, parties and candidates without a message worth listening to will see themselves dumped from office the old fashioned way: They will have earned it.

Contact: Marsha Richards, Communications Director, (360) 956-3482

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org