Free Republic

It used to be Labor Day was a celebration of worker empowerment, but labor organizations around the nation have turned it into a day of worker exploitation. Consider the National Education Association (NEA). The NEA currently “represents” more than 2 million public school teachers and employees the same way the mobs used to represent small shop owners. While teachers in forced-union states technically do have a choice, it’s not much of one: They can pay several hundred dollars a year to union officials, or they can find another career. It’s the old “buy our insurance or you’ll need it” model....

What would you think of an organization that takes money from workers' paychecks without their permission, spends the money on politics that workers may disagree with, ignores state campaign finance laws, and then tells the Internal Revenue Service that it does not spend any money on politics? Unfortunately, this is not a bad fairy tale; it is a description of what labor officials do to workers in Washington state. Labor Day is a time to celebrate the hard-working men and woman who have made this country the world's economic powerhouse. The Washington State Labor Council (WSLC), AFL-CIO, says it advocates...

OLYMPIA – On Thursday, May 27, from 8:45-9:45 am, the Washington Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in an appeal of the 2003 Court of Appeals ruling declaring the state law prohibiting unauthorized use of non-member union fees for politics as unconstitutional. The decision negated part of campaign finance Initiative 134, which was approved by 72 percent of Washington's voters in 1992. The Washington Education Association (WEA) was sued by the state Attorney General (AG) and found guilty in July 2001 of willfully violating RCW 42.17.760, which prohibits the union from using fees taken from non-member teachers to advance political...

NJ Teachers: You Can Contribute $546.00 to your Favorite Charity at No Cost(and encourage morality in the New Jersey Education Association)Does the title sound too good to be true? A recent court decision means teachers belonging to a National Education Association (NEA) affiliate (NJEA, etc.) can become a "religious objector". The teacher may then contribute to any charitable organization in lieu of their "representation fees" – thus not paying anything to the NEA or the NJEA.Teachers, here’s how it is done:Address a letter to the Membership Director of the NJEA:Ms. Elizabeth JohnNew Jersey Education Assn.P.O. Box 1211Trenton, NJ 08607-1211Dear...

<p>April 19, 2003 -- TWENTY years ago this month, an ad hoc commission established by then-Education Secretary Terrell H. Bell released a report entitled "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Education Reform." The report quickly became the most widely discussed educational reform blueprint in American history. One sentence in the report summarized the commission's take on the status of American education: "If an unfriendly power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war."</p>

Today I was watching Fox News while working out at the gym. Davis Asman was interviewing former UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq and Assistant Secretary General Denis Halliday. Halliday claimed that Iraq paid more dues into the UN that the US last years. I wish that were true, but I seriously doubt it. I did find this link from the US Mission to the UN, that claims the “U.S. pays 22% of the UN's regular budget and about 27.2% of the peacekeeping budgets. It also pays about 25% of the costs of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and Former...

NEA Being Sued For Illegally Spending Dues of Non-Member Teachers The attorney general in the State of Washington has filed a lawsuit against the National Education Association for illegally spending the dues of non-member teachers. The lawsuit contends that, once again, the union is using those dues for liberal political purposes. The suit filed in Thurston County Superior Court last week claims the NEA is violating Washington state law by spending money from non-agency fee payers for political causes. The lawsuit is based on a complaint from the Evergreen Freedom Foundation that was brought before the Public Disclosure Commission. EFF...

<p>WASHINGTON — The National Education Association is crying foul play after a Washington state judge slapped the country's largest teachers union with an $800,000 fine for failing to show up for court on charges that it was illegally spending members' dues on politics.</p>

Alaska Teamsters Union Prosecuted For Threatening Workers and Seizing Dues For PoliticsFederal labor board to conduct trial of union for violating employee’s rightsFOR RELEASE: June 5, 2002 Anchorage, Alaska (June 5, 2002) — Responding to charges brought by Joshua Deuter, an employee of First Student Inc., the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will prosecute Teamsters Local 959 for illegally forcing employees to pay full union dues, including dues spent for politics, and threatening employees by saying that circulating a deauthorization petition was a criminal act. Enjoying free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation, Deuter filed unfair...