Say what? That’s the typical response to a story highlighted at GOPUSA today:
The Washington Education Association recently denied a Christian teacher’s request to have her dues diverted to a charity that opposes sex trafficking. The teacher objected to funding the WEA’s support for abortion and same-sex “marriage” with her dues.
The controversial group that the union didn’t want the teacher’s money diverted to? Shared Hope International. As you can see here, Shared Hope’s War Against Trafficking Alliance is hardly some sort of a narrow, right-wing project.
In states where public school teachers are required to pay union dues in order to work, federal law allows legitimate religious objectors to divert their dues money to a lawful charity. Quite often, as the GOPUSA article indicates, unions fight with teachers to keep them from diverting their money or at least squabbles indefinitely about which charity can be “mutually agreed upon.” That’s where the National Right to Work Foundation comes in, defending the individual interests of teachers whose consciences often are violated by the union’s stonewalling.
My friend Mike Reitz at the Evergreen Freedom Foundation has great commentary on the issue – a worthwhile read on the union’s obstruction of “the fight against sex trafficking of children.”
Thankfully, teachers in Colorado are not obligated to join the union as a condition of employment. Those that do join, however, should be aware of the refundable $36-a-year Every Member Option that funds political activities, and that they do have alternatives for professional membership organizations.
It hasn’t been a good time lately for the National Education Association (of which WEA is a part) – recently, a pro-family grassroots campaign compelled the union to remove initiative language from its Annual Convention in support of homosexual marriage. The liberal elites at the top of the NEA sure send a lot of mixed messages to the rank-and-file regarding what the organization stands for.
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