AG Takes WEA to Court Again for New Campaign Finance Violations

October 9, 2000 – Only two weeks after the Washington Education Association (WEA) sent a letter to all its members stating it was in full compliance with state campaign finance laws, the AG has filed a suit in the Thurston County Superior Court alleging otherwise.

The AG’s suit comes as a result of the Olympia-based Evergreen Freedom Foundation’s (EFF) charges that WEA officials collected $850,000 from 4,194 non-member teachers and illegally used these funds for politics.

"If the union won’t respect the rights of teachers, it’s good to know the highest enforcement official in the state will," said Jami Lund, an analyst for EFF.

The Attorney General’s office noted that the law provides for a fine of up to $10,000 per violation. This is a potential fine of $41,940,000, an amount roughly equivalent to the total annual dues collected from WEA’s members.

"We are disappointed that Gregoire does not intend to require WEA officials to return the money they took from these teachers," said Lund. "Since teachers can’t rely on the word of union officials who continue to profit from law-breaking, we hope the Attorney General will consider the maximum civil penalty. In addition, the union should be prevented from taking advantage of non-member teachers in the future."

In a similar case in 1998, the Attorney General filed suit against the WEA for campaign finance violations, but negotiated privately with WEA officials to settle and dismiss the case.

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