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PRESS RELEASE
 March 27, 2003
Contact: Marsha Richards,
Communications Director WEA ignored law, says AG's office TACOMA—In oral arguments before the state Court of Appeals this morning, the Attorney General’s office charged the Washington Education Association with ignoring a clear and simple law when union officials used unauthorized non-member fees to advance political causes. "They chose not to [follow the law]," said Assistant Attorney General Tom Wendell. "It’s as simple as that. They knew the statute was there, they knew what it said, and they ignored it." The case is on appeal after the WEA was found guilty in July 2001 of violating a state law that prohibits using fees taken from non-member teachers for political causes without those teachers’ permission. In assessing penalties, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Gary Tabor found that "the WEA ‘intentionally’ chose not to comply with the clear language of the statute." The union was hit with a $400,000 fine, ordered to pay $190,000 in legal fees, and required to refund teachers nearly $200,000 in illegally spent fees. Attorneys for the WEA have argued that money taken from teachers’ paychecks belongs to the union and any attempts to limit their unauthorized use of teachers’ money is an abridgement of the union’s free speech rights. By contrast, the Attorney General’s office focused on the free speech rights of teachers, arguing that the union’s practice of spending money on politics taken from teachers without authorization amounts to "forced political speech." In a related class action lawsuit brought by teachers against the WEA, union attorneys argued teachers have no right to challenge them in court for illegally spent fees. The AG’s case against WEA originated with a complaint brought by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, an Olympia-based policy research organization that advocates free speech and fair elections. A Court of Appeals decision is expected later this year.
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1 Part Honesty; 2 Parts Arrogance At a March 23, 2005, House Appropriations hearing on a bill to gut the voter-approved I-601 spending limit, Rep. Jim McIntire (D) asked a supporter of I-601’s two-third supermajority requirement for the legislature to raise taxes the following question: "Can you name a time when we [legislators] have actually not just set it [supermajority requirement] aside by majority vote? I mean, this is in many respects a procedural motion that has no bearing. It’s a statutory constraint that cannot constrain any legislature that chooses as a majority to set it aside . . . have we ever used a supermajority [to raise taxes]?" - Rep. Jim McIntire (D - 46) Despite the arrogance of some state officials, Washington's constitution is clear: "All political power is inherent in the people..." |
