Posted on 02/27/2007 1:41:10 PM PST by truth49
OLYMPIA--Susan Wiggs, a Vancouver school teacher, has been attempting since August 2005 to divert her union dues to a charity that fights sex trafficking. Under state and federal law, teachers and other workers can opt out of union membership by claiming religious exemption, and can send their union dues to a charitable organization. Susan Wiggs' local union, however, has refused to send her dues to the charity of her choice. Wiggs' case against the Vancouver Education Association (VEA) was heard before the Public Employment Relations Commission on February 26, 2007, in Olympia. While the Vancouver Education Association agrees that she qualifies for religious objector status, it has refused to accommodate her charity selection. Wiggs would like her dues to go to Shared Hope International, which works "to prevent and eradicate sex trafficking and slavery through education and public awareness," according to its website.
VEA Executive Director Roy Maier refused, saying the organization is "not acceptable" to the VEA. Although Susan provided the union with documentation of Shared Hope’s non-profit, non-sectarian status, it has continued to block her from sending her union dues to Shared Hope.
Wiggs discovered guidelines the VEA had previously agreed to follow as a result of litigation with a different religious objector. The guidelines stated, "The goal is to respect the objector's choice of charities, so long as the designated recipient is lawful and charitable."
"It is unclear why the VEA has such a strong objection to an organization that works to rescue women and children from sex trafficking," said Michael Reitz, Labor Policy Director for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. "As an organization of teachers, one would assume they would be particularly concerned with the trafficking and slavery of children."
Wiggs contacted the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, who obtained legal representation for her hearing before the Public Employment Relations Commission. Another hearing before the Public Employees Relations Commission on her case has been scheduled for March 21, 2007.
Phone: 360-695-3397
Fax: 360-694-8337
FREEP AWAY! VEA "contact us" info.
One of the new laws the Jackasses (aka Donkeys) are trying to pass is one that eliminates the secret ballot in union elections and replaces it with signed "cards". The cards are used today to call for the election.
This is a just a horrible gross idea that will result in union thugs intimidating people en mass. Horible and little debated. Nancy and the Sen. Craps are just paying the piper I guess.
>>Ha! As I repeatedly say, over and over and over again, "If you love your children you will teach them yourself" and forget about public education and the Unions that run it.<<
Many parents are not fully qualified - in fact few university professors are qualified to teach all high school subjects... in addition to the option of home schooling, we need vouchers to allow parents who both work or who can't teach all subjects to divert the tax money we spend for their kids to a better school.
"This is horrible and ubelievable."
You are SO right...and so is the union.
Who taught those parents?
>>Many parents are not fully qualified -
You said, "We need to keep trying." All "trying" is is an excuse to fail. As the great Master Yoda once said, "Do or do not do but do NOT try."
Folks... If you love your children you will teach them yourself.
>>Sorry. I disagree. We need to make parents responsible for raising their own children and that includes educating them<<
Well, we are not going to agree on everything. Your principles are dead on -I just think education is one of those compelling joint interests like defense and law enforcement where public spending is essential. I can understand how you disagree, particularly in light of the way the public schools do things now.
Are we in agreement that IF we are going to continue to use tax money for education that parents should have decision power on which school, if any they choose to attend??
Only if parents that choose to home school their children and those schools not part of the public school system are NOT required to follow the government's curriculum or regulated by the government once said vouchers (or other forms of relief) are administered. I personally know how government works. Once they get "their" money into a program they think they have the right (and rightly so) to regulate it and to insist that certain guidelines are met. It's precisely this thinking that has driven our public school system into the Marxist concentration camps of socialist indoctrination that they are today. To a Marxist (Progressive) it is more important to teach young girls that babies are nothing more than tumors that need to be chopped up and removed, teach all children that putting colorful condoms on bananas is fun and that Christians are no different than Muslims.
I for one am more in favor of pushing for a total withdrawal of all public funds being used for education and that said funds be returned to the public in the form of tax cuts. Then... those parents and grand parents that have school aged children will be able to afford to send their child to the "school" of their choice or to afford to purchase the teaching aides needed to properly educate their child themselves.
I'm tired of the education system trying to make me support them. They work for me, the parent, and they should be required to support my values. I'M PAYING THE BILL!
Seriously folks, if you have to work for hours with your child every night doing your child's homework with them, in essence doing the teacher's job, what the hell do you need the teacher for?
If you love your child you will teach him/her yourself in a loving and safe environment; YOUR HOME!!!
My best friends son is in his first year at Andover Exeter. His Chinese is improving dramatically, he has a better grasp of the Middle East situation and what Islam really says (and does) than most adults I meet. I rate his educaiton as excellent. Throw in the connections he's making and the great sporting tradition he's a part of and there is no way I could deliver 1/20th of that in the home.
Sorry but I just totally disagree with your thesis "If you love your kids you will home school them". For some parents, and some kids, that might be best. For others, not so.
How about the truely poor and ignorant. They have kids too. Can't you imagine knowing that your not smart enough to teach your kids everything? We're only two generations from sharecropping in the USA. It's going to take those families a LONG time to get their progeny educated if they don't rely on TEACHERS.
Anyway, this is so basic it's probably not worth discussing further. If you don't get that great teachers are one of the best things in many peoples lives (including mine) by now, you probably never will.
As for taxpayers funding schools, we'll here at FR we have a higher percentage on minarchists and libertarians and even old school conservatives who see that. Most people will not. (Sad, but factual.)
I rate my typing as poor!
Um, let me know when you pass that law, anywhere, ok? If politics is the art of the possible you suggestions strikes me as about as likely to happen as pigs flying.
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