-By Warner Todd Huston
This is a story that has been coming to the fore more every year. The idea that union members should have a choice whether their dues money goes to fund political causes is getting more cachet all the time. Today we have another call to stop unions for using dues money for political causes without getting permission from the dues paying union members first, this time from the Sacramento Bee.
Editorial: Refunds from union are only right
Should government workers be forced to pay for political activities with which they disagree to keep their jobs? That was the fundamental question underlying the case federal court Judge Morrison England decided last week. In a ruling that relied on simple fairness and federal law, Judge England said no.
In the case before the court, the Services Employees International Union Local 1000 had imposed a special assessment on state workers it represented to bankroll its “Political Fight-Back Fund.” The fund was established in 2005 to finance the union’s campaign against Propositions 75 and 76, two measures on the November ballot that year, pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The union deducted $12 million from the paychecks of 92,500 of its state worker members to support SEIU’s campaign to defeat the initiatives. Some 28,000 non-union workers, state employees who opt not to join the union but are required to pay fees to finance the union’s bargaining activities from which they benefit, were also forced to pay. That’s where the union tripped up. The non-union members sued to get their money back, and last week they prevailed.
As the Bee editorial notes, its a good thing that unions are beginning to have taken away the ability to casually use of everyone’s dues money to fund the union leadership’s pet political causes. After all, what if Democrat union members were forced to see their dues used to fund Republican causes?
If this idea separating the use of union money from political campaigns becomes more widespread, this could put a great dent in funding for extreme leftist, anti-business, anti-American causes.
Let’s hope this is a ball that find a continued downhill path!
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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, townhall.com, New Media Journal, Men’s News Daily and the New Media Alliance among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston