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When
Values Collide:
Teachers, Unions and the Charity Option |
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| As a Washington state teacher, you pay
an average of $760 in union fees each year to the Washington Education
Association (WEA) and its affiliates. Union officials will probably
never tell you that a large portion of your money is used for ideological
activities that aren't related to workplace representation or student
academic achievement.
The union's ideological activities include controversial support of abortion and contraceptives for children, family planning clinics in schools, affirmation of homosexuality, opposition to parental choice, and open attacks on religious organizations. These have all taken the form of resolutions, programs, or expenditures of the National Education Association (NEA). Many teachers have sincere religious convictions that are violated by these causes. Fortunately, they are protected by federal law, which says teachers cannot be forced to financially support a union in violation of their sincerely-held personal religious beliefs. Through a simple process, teachers can become "religious objectors." This means they are no longer members of the union and 100 percent of their union fees are redirected to a charity they help choose. You may agree or disagree with the union's social and political agenda. Regardless, many teachers believe it is wrong for the union to charge everyone for workplace representation, but then use that money to promote their own, unrelated agenda.
Courts have ruled that "reasonable accommodation" includes the right to opt out of a union based on religious conviction. Then, depending on state law and specific union contracts, teachers can keep a portion of their union dues or fees or send the money to charity. In a right-to-work state, teachers can simply resign union membership and pay nothing to the union. However, in a forced-fee state like Washington, teachers still have to pay agency-fees -- but they can redirect this money to charity.
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