No longer will unions in Washington state spend their members’ dues cavalierly without fear of recourse. The Freedom Foundation is going to make them pay – literally.
Public-sector unions spend millions on political campaigns, and while that alone is disturbing enough, what’s even worse is the amount of money being spent out of district on campaigns and causes unrelated to the bargaining unit the dues are collected from.
Consider Exhibit A, Teamsters local 252 from Lewis County. If you happen to be a member of Teamsters 252 and you’re curious enough to do a little homework. You might wonder why your dues are funding a state legislative race in two districts away. Or it might seem strange to discover you’re funding “Opportunity for Olympia,” a group set up by Seattle liberal insiders whose goal is to run an initiative in Olympia that would create a local income tax.
What possible good could come for Lewis county public employees in funding a campaign in Olympia?
If nothing else, at least labor unions are consistent. They intimidate employers, employees and government officials. They lie, blackmail and buy politicians. And they do this with a war chest confiscated from the employees they’re supposed to be representing.
When unions don’t get their way, they often resort to threats. Teamsters recently told elected officials that “The union will make the cost of getting elected much higher if it does nothing else.”
We at the Freedom Foundation have a message for union bosses: If you write checks to out-of-district campaigns and causes unrelated to the bargaining unit you purport to represent, we are going to educate your barging unit about its right to stop funding your frivolous ideological escapades.
