If
an attempt by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation to force the powerful Washington Education
Association to obey the law is a right-wing conspiracy to weaken the union's influence,
count the state Public Disclosure Commission and the state attorney general as part of
that conspiracy...
That the state agency
and the state's top lawyer found the WEA guilty of these violations after thorough
investigations puts the lie to any contention that the foundation's allegations had no
credibility and were simply a political vendetta. Once the conservative foundation
prevailed upon the disclosure commission to investigate misuse of union dues alleged by
numerous teachers, the WEA went on a nasty political attack against the foundation.
That was the real vendetta...
Labor unions can give
money to political campaigns without getting the permission of individual dues payers
under guidelines laid down recently by the state Attorney General's Office...
Initiative 134 provided
that money cannot be diverted from employees' wages for political committees or
contributions "except upon the written request of the employee." Many
people thought that meant union members had to give permission before their dues could be
used for political activity.
Not according to the new
guidelines...
Among other things...
unions can give money to political campaigns from their general treasuries as long as the
donations are reported and they are not the group's "primary" purpose, according
to spokesmen for both the attorney general and the Public Disclosure Commission...