Legislature fixes I-134 - at long last
It's a good day for unions.
Imagine if BIAW had to get written, affirmative permission from every member to do any politics with "retro" funds, because that is the logical end to the conservative argument. If interest groups have to get permission, then it should apply to all interest groups, not just ones that righties don't like. Unions aren't always perfect, of course, and sometimes they go too far, but the idea that it's okay to make up a bunch of needlessly complex rules to mess with groups that represent workers needs to end.
The right only wants to de-fund groups that contribute mainly to Democrats. They pretend it's about "free speech rights," when it's really about their greed and lust for power. If a few teachers don't want to belong to WEA, they don't have to. But enough of this bogus attempt to kill WEA with red tape.
The Washington Legislature passed a bill Friday to allow labor unions to spend nonmembers' bargaining fees on political causes without first getting their permission, over the objections of opponents who said it was a clear attempt to circumvent a pending ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.It's about time, because Initiative 134 was baloney in the first place. Everyone talks about the rights of a few malcontents as if that's the real issue. The actual issue is that the Evergreen Freedom Foundation has been trying to destroy WEA for a very long time for political reasons.
The measure, approved by the House last month, passed the Senate 29-20 and now heads to Gov. Chris Gregoire. Two Democrats voted against the measure: Sens. Jim Hargrove of Hoquiam and Tim Sheldon of Potlatch.
Imagine if BIAW had to get written, affirmative permission from every member to do any politics with "retro" funds, because that is the logical end to the conservative argument. If interest groups have to get permission, then it should apply to all interest groups, not just ones that righties don't like. Unions aren't always perfect, of course, and sometimes they go too far, but the idea that it's okay to make up a bunch of needlessly complex rules to mess with groups that represent workers needs to end.
The right only wants to de-fund groups that contribute mainly to Democrats. They pretend it's about "free speech rights," when it's really about their greed and lust for power. If a few teachers don't want to belong to WEA, they don't have to. But enough of this bogus attempt to kill WEA with red tape.
