Posted on 06/26/2007 9:12:22 PM PDT by monomaniac
June 26, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Once Carol Katter, an Ohio teacher, had rejected the suggestion by a union official that she “change religions” in order to be able to claim the right to conscientious objection about the destination of her union dues, she took her case to court. Katter objected to the fact that teachers in Ohio must pay union dues to the Ohio Education Association (OEA), a portion of which dues goes to support abortion.
Yesterday, however, an Ohio federal district court ruled as unconstitutional a rule restricting to particular denominations the right to religious-based objection to union dues.
In January, Katter, a lifelong Catholic and mathematics and language arts instructor, filed a complaint against the Ohio State Employment Relations Board (SERB) and the Ohio Education Association (OEA) union, a state affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), claiming that the requirement to pay dues violated her constitutional right to the free practice of her religious beliefs.
The National Education Association (NEA) is a fervent supporter of abortion and is active in the homosexual political movement to redefine marriage and promote homosexuality.
The Catholic teacher, however, soon discovered that only members of the Seventh-day Adventist and Mennonite churches were recognized by the union as exempted from paying the dues. Katter “pleaded” with union officials to have her dues diverted to charity, but the union refused and told her she needed to “change religions” to get the exemption.
According to Katter her request was refused, “Basically because I could not come up with proof that my individual church - not the Catholic faith, but my individual church - had a record of anyone having successfully fought a union.”
Katter said that she “very excited” about the recent court ruling in her favor. "There are a lot of employees and teachers who do not know about this and have always thought that they just had no choice but to pay their dues," she said. "I'm thrilled about what it means for us to have the freedom not to support something we object to on moral grounds."
Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
U.S. Teacher’s Union Lists Favorable Review of Abstinence Then Blasts It
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/oct/06100507.html
US National Education Association to Endorse Same-Sex ‘Marriage’
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jul/06071102.html
Another common sense ruling. Thank the Lord.
I understand thanking the Lord for this ruling from the court.
But I also wonder why God has allowed abortion proponents to prevail for so long.
Elections matter! The refreshing change of common-sense SCOTUS rulings is but one court seat away from disappearing. Even now, putting a conservative on the bench would be nearly impossible. That was the price of 2006. What will 2008 bring?
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD” (Proverbs 55:8 KJV)
Who knows, sometimes people/nations/take your pick of party have to be brought to rock bottom before they turn to Christ.
What other union is so rabid in the support of killing their future customers?
>>>What other union is so rabid in the support of killing their future customers?<<<
And that is about succinctly as that situation could be summarized. You are absolutely right. I’ve been trying to get my mom to dump her teacher’s union and the NEA for ages now. She never really read through their literature that carefully—just knew that they could provide some protection when her weak-kneed principle wouldn’t. I think she’s finally starting to realize what these people stand for.
She can get away with a lot in a small southern town—she even does something as radical as celebrate Christmas! No manger scenes burned or stripped from view, either... :P
Good news.
Unions stopped representing their employees long ago. Today, they are merely collection agengies for of the Democratic party.
I am no Biblical scholar. What I do know is that the Bible tells us there will be a time when the devil has control of the world. Why? I don’t know. The faithful will endure, and will rejoice & thank God for all his blessings.
It took two weeks for the union to come up with a form for her to fill out. The local president asked her why she was doing it. She said she doesn't support the intentional taking of innocent life.
I believe the federal law is that members can do this, but unions are not required to tell them they can. So they don't.
Notifying employees of this right was part of an initiative in Cal when Davis was kicked out, but it was defeated. The teachers and correctional officers spent millions to defeat the initiative.
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