...The state's Public Disclosure
Commission said last month that regular union dues don't count as political contributions,
even if part of the dues are used for politics...
The ruling runs counter to the spirit of Initiative 134, a measure that was fought by the
WEA and other unions but passed with a thumping 73 percent majority...
The Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a group headed by Bob Williams, charges that our
Democratic attorney general has sold out to the unions. The foundation has sued the
WEA in Thurston County Court. All sides await a ruling by Judge Thomas McPhee on
what the law really means.
However he rules, we believe a proper law ought to apply to union dues...
To the extent that unions' political voice is based on dues from unwilling members, that
voice is false. Unions should be free to amplify their voice with increased dues,
but only from willing members...