Judge orders WEA to repay teachers over $180,000

Issues permanent injunction to prevent future violations

OLYMPIA - Thursday, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Gary Tabor clarified a ruling granting a state-sought injunction against the Washington Education Association (WEA) to end the union’s practice of using funds from non-members for election expenditures. The injunction requires WEA officials to refund $47 to approximately 4,000 teachers who pay fees to the union.

The union will also be required to document its election-affecting contributions and expenditures from general funds and must provide an advance reduction to non-members from now on. WEA attorneys sought to have its future practices governed by a "memorandum of understanding," but the Judge agreed with the state that a permanent injunction was necessary to assure that future violations could be addressed by contempt of court charges.

Today’s ruling is the second part of a decision that Judge Tabor issued this past summer in which he fined the WEA $200,000 for violating campaign finance disclosure laws, and then doubled the fine because the WEA had violated the law intentionally. The WEA will also be required to pay legal expenses for the state, estimated to be over $100,000.

Of the 70,000 educators represented by the WEA, approximately 4,000 are unwilling to be members and therefore pay "agency fees" as a condition of employment. The union practice of using general funds and agency fees for election-affecting activity prompted the Evergreen Freedom Foundation to file a complaint with the Attorney General in August of 2000. The state investigated the claim and brought charges before Judge Tabor in a trial last May.

Since 1998, the WEA has been penalized over $830,000 for violating campaign disclosure laws.

Judge Gary Tabor also issued his final conclusions about the facts of the case calling the WEA’s actions "intentional violations of [Washington law]." His descriptions of the facts and conclusions also criticized the WEA for their actions during the years in question, saying "irreparable harm will result if the WEA continues to use agency fees without...authorization."

Along with refunding teachers’ money, the WEA has been instructed to track expenditures that effect elections. Expenditures tracked include political advertising, contributions, in-kind contributions, independent expenditures, political communications to teachers and other expenses associated with election-affecting activities.

In reference to the union practice of using fee payer money and WEA’s general fund for election activity the ruling says, "There was a commingling of funds, the procedure to get agency fee payer permission to use funds for political purposes was not used."

A teachers’ class action lawsuit, Davenport vs WEA also seeks to gain repayment for nonmembers whose funds were wrongfully used in the prior five years.

"I am pleased that WEA’s silent fleecing of 4,000 educators will no longer remain hidden and that the union will be forced to honor these educators’ rights," said Jami Lund, Evergreen Freedom Foundation spokesman.

Contact: Jami Lund, Project Manager, (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