Class Action Lawsuit

Teacher's Sue WEA
Class action aimed at recovering illegally spent dues

Press Coverage of the Suit

Background on class action lawsuit

In an attempt to get their money back from union officials, a group of teachers launched a class action lawsuit against the WEA in Thurston County Superior Court yesterday.

OTHER TEACHERS CAN JOIN THIS ACTION, AND THOUSANDS OF TEACHERS MAY BENEFIT IF A REFUND IS WON.

The complaint arises as a result of WEA officials' admission that money taken from non-member "agency fees" has been used as political contributions. (see text at: http://www.effwa.org/tppreport/WEA_admits.htm)

As a result of this violation of the law, Attorney General Christine Gregoire, filed suit against the WEA last October. However, Gregoire said she would not seek a repayment for teachers as part of the suit.

According to the AG news release:

"The lawsuit is aimed at enforcing the law on behalf of the citizens of Washington and is not intended to recover fees paid by individuals to the WEA."

http://www.wa.gov/ago/releases/rel_wea_100900.html

The teachers filing the suit are seeking to recover wages illegally used by union officials in the last five years, and they don't want to be forced to help with contributions to influence elections and support WEA-PAC. Currently, WEA officials charge non-members for all union activities (except a one-dollar per month political education assessment). This means that non-members are charged for campaign contributions, ideological contributions, union officials' public relations campaigns, and the marketing of the union's merits to union members. The amount of fees charged even covers the cost of legal liability insurance, although non-members are denied these services!

WEA officials do allow non-members to write each year and ask for a WEA-calculated refund. However, if teachers don't do so exactly by the book, WEA officials keep the excessive charges. The admitted use of teachers' fees for political contributions has given rise to the class action lawsuit. Teachers want repayment of these funds and a lowering of agency fees to prevent future violations of the same kind. They deserve it.

WHO WILL BENEFIT?

Anyone who wants WEA officials to be more responsive to members will benefit.

WHO CAN JOIN THE CLASS?

Any current or former non-member teacher who has not received a rebate check from the union in any of the past five years.

Potentially anyone who:

Started working in a union agency fee district without actually signing the union membership enrollment form

Wrote a letter at any time to the union resigning their membership, AND who missed getting the WEA-calculated "non-chargeable activity" refund during any of the past five years

The refund of "non-chargeable" (political and other) activity is typically $100 to $200 each year, and non-members would have received a check in late fall.

WEA's information provided to the state indicates that in the last three years over 4,000 non-member teachers have not reclaimed rebates and are thus eligible for a refund. I have reason to believe the total number of teachers who could potentially be eligible for the class is as high as 8,000.

(Note: Religious objectors pay 100% of the dues amount to a charity, and thus are not eligible for a refund.)

IF YOU THINK YOU MIGHT BE ELIGIBLE, YOU COULD BE DIRECTLY INVOLVED AS:

A named class member representing the thousands of unspecified teachers who have been exploited by the current system. This option is for the brave, but the more who join the named class, the easier it is for all involved.

    2.   As a beneficiary when a court award or settlement is offered. A participant at this
          level should let us know, but would not have his or her name associated with the
          action until an award is granted.

IF YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE, BUT WANT TO HELP

FIRST, you can help us identify other potential non-members who might be entitled to an award as part of this class action lawsuit.

Check at your payroll office to see if they will provide information about how many "agency fee payers" are in your district.
Ask those who you think might have declined to sign the WEA membership papers or who might have written a letter of resignation.
Think about those who have retired in recent years who might not have been members.

SECOND, you can help us keep attention on this issue.

Letters to the editor are a great way to get word out. The newspapers will soon be writing about this lawsuit, and your letter to the editor could be in response to that.

Our website has e-mail addresses of most newspapers:

http://www.effwa.org/website/newspaper_links.htm

Contact lawmakers, party officials, columnists or radio personalities letting them know about the way WEA officials take advantage of their unique power over payroll deductions.

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