The Washington Education Association’s (WEA) mission is to look after the well-being and self-interest of long-time dues payers, and its efforts typically do not favor younger teachers.

In the analysis of union contracts, “Grading the Teacher Union Contracts,” the Freedom Foundation regularly found provisions with more generous percentage raises and bonuses for older teachers. In some cases, the union even lowers base wages of younger teachers to redistribute the funds to the base wage of older teachers.

Initiative 732, which WEA bankrolled, specifies that annual teacher raises will be on a percentage basis which gives the most money to the highest-paid teachers. Each year of implementation, this policy expands the gap between the WEA-favored teachers and the lowest-paid teachers. 

As a result of a combination of these kinds of regressive policies, in the Everett School District today, one teacher could earn double the wage of another with the same work duties.

Unlike most unions which use a percentage of salary as the basis for dues, the WEA uses a flat rate for dues. This means that the $1,000 union dues requires 2.8 percent of a starting teacher salary, but only 1.5 percent of a top paid teacher salary.

In 2008, when the compromise budget Sen. Dino Rossi (R-Sammamish) negotiated included a pay raise for new teachers only, the WEA sued the state to block this raise.

It might be argued that the marketing value of a low starting salary for teachers helps the union accomplish its mission for their higher-paid, long-time dues payers.

Gov. Jay Inslee has introduced a proposed budget that boosts the wages of new teachers significantly, but provides 1 percent to the rest in addition to the already-budgeted 4.8 percent pay raise.

If the Legislature adopts a salary schedule that narrows the disparity between the highest-paid and lowest-paid teachers, will WEA sue again?