Legal Group Hails Wash. Court's Decision to Revisit Paycheck Protection Law
by Jim Brown
September 27, 2006
(AgapePress) - - The Supreme Court has agreed to review Washington State's Paycheck Protection Law, which requires unions to get the permission of their individual members before spending their collective bargaining dues on political activity. The Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) had filed a complaint against the Washington Education Association (WEA) after the union ignored the law's requirement to get members' consent before using their dues for liberal political causes. A state investigation found the WEA had blatantly violated the Paycheck Protection Law; however, the Washington Supreme Court overturned that law, despite its having been overwhelmingly approved by the state's voters.
Now that the court has agreed to review the statute, however, EFF legal counsel Michael Reitz is hopeful the law, which was passed by 73 percent of the voters in a statewide initiative, will ultimately be upheld. The pro-family legal group is "very thrilled that the court is going to take this case," the lawyer says, "and we're certainly looking forward to the oral arguments."
Reitz calls the high court's decision to review the law "excellent news for teachers and for the cause of free and fair elections" both in Washington and throughout the United States. He and the other legal analysts at EFF think this will be "a first step toward securing the First Amendment free-speech rights of teachers and, really, 17 million union-represented workers all around the country," he says.
Before the Washington Supreme Court overturned the Paycheck Protection Law, the state attorney general had won a judgment against the Washington Education Association for more than half a million dollars. Reitz is optimistic that the court's review of the law will result in its being upheld.
"It's a First Amendment issue that touches on everyone's rights," the EFF attorney says. "No one should be forced to pay for political causes with which they disagree," he contends, "and we think that the Supreme Court will certainly agree with that and rule in our favor."
Reitz says the Washington Supreme Court's ruling on the Paycheck Protection Law will determine whether a union in the state can force members to fund its political speech or activism, even when they disagree with it, simply because the workers are obliged to pay collective bargaining dues.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
