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"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money "If
all mankind minus one were of one opinion, |
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"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money "If
all mankind minus one were of one opinion, |
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Washington
State's "[T]he Constitution
requires...that [political] expenditures be financed from charges, dues, or assessments
paid by employees who do not object to advancing those ideas and who are not coerced into
doing so against their will by the threat of loss of governmental employment."
NEA ordered to end hassles over religion Fighting EFF is WEA's #3 priority Thanks to decisions made by officials of the Washington Education Association, the state’s teacher union has been sued twice by the state Attorney General, convicted of multiple violations of state campaign finance laws, and penalized more than $1 million for years of chronic law-breaking as well as being forced to return $530,000 to teachers. Their response: Comply with the law? Apologize to members? No. In the past, WEA officials have sued both EFF and individual teachers who have spoken out against their illegal activity. Now they’re spending tens of thousands of dollars (taken from teachers) to attack the organization that exposed their illegal activity... EFF responds to WEA absurd claims "WEA Only Hurts Members with Smear Campaign" "Teacher's
Union Earns Detention"
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EFF files suit against NEAOLYMPIA, WA - The Evergreen Freedom Foundation filed a lawsuit in the Thurston County Superior Court yesterday against the National Education Association. The foundation’s lawsuit charges the national union with taking money from agency fee paying* teachers in Washington state and illegally using it to influence state elections. EFF decided to file suit after staff of the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission found NEA guilty of violations and recommended the Attorney General seek a settlement with “substantial” penalties, but stated that: “If a settlement cannot be reached . . . staff do not recommend that the Attorney General proceed with litigation based on the current budget cutbacks and the cost of such litigation.” EFF was alarmed at the apparent willingness of PDC staff to let the NEA off lightly for violations that affect the integrity of state elections and the free speech rights of thousands of teachers. “Asking nicely doesn’t give the union much incentive to enter a settlement,” said Bob Williams, EFF’s president. “PDC staff found a Washington citizen (Tim Eyman) and a multi-million dollar national union guilty of violating state laws, and they’re ready to throw the book at the citizen and let the union off easy.” The NEA’s Washington state affiliate was found guilty of breaking the same state law last year when Washington’s Attorney General filed a lawsuit based on a complaint filed by EFF. The judge called the WEA’s violations “intentional” and ordered the union to pay a $400,000 fine, $190,000 in legal fees, and to refund thousands of non-member teachers a total of $200,000. * Agency fee payers are teachers who are not members of the union but are still required to pay fees equal to 100 percent of the union’s mandatory dues. Washington state law expressly prohibits the union from spending any of that money for political purposes without individual authorization from teachers. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Read EFF's complaint against the NEA Read
the PDC's findings of guilt against the NEA
WEA
Fighting "Right Wing Conservative Coalition," Sues Public
Disclosure Commission
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UPDATED April 22, 2002
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