Letters To The Editor

Sat., Aug. 31, 1996

BUSINESS AND LABOR

Movement opposes union tactic

On Aug. 25, the Review ran two articles about union members fighting against union abuse and exploitation. There is a rising grass-roots movement of union members who are fed up with seeing their hard-earned wages being siphoned off to fund the unions’ political activity, which often has nothing to do with work issues.

Throughout Washington state, teachers and other education employees are banding together in a lawsuit to challenge the unauthorized use of their union dues for political activity. Whether liberal or conservative, union members believe that funding political activity should be voluntary - not coerced through mandatory dues.

They seek accountability from the teachers’ union and protection of their First Amendment free-speech rights to not be forced to fund political activity. The educators are not anti-union - they believe in paying their fair share for collective bargaining, contract maintenance and grievance adjustment.

Those who want to know more about their rights and joining this lawsuit can contact paralegal Kristy Bergland (326-7500) for full details. Cindy Omlin Mead

Apply same rules to corporations

Your Aug. 25 Opinion page made a one-two punch against union participation in the political process by implying that only when they can obtain 100 percent approval of their constituency should unions be allowed to make political campaign contributions.

I concur with the analysis (“Teacher unions lost sight of purpose” and “Union members not getting bargain”) as long it is implemented evenhandedly.

According to the Center for Public Integrity, 70 percent of all political contributions come from corporations. As a stockholder of several corporations, I have never been asked for my approval for any of their political activities, let alone informed of what those activities are.

If we apply the same rules to corporations that your Opinion page writers suggest for unions, they would have to get consent from 100 percent of their stockholders before making political contributions.

I believe the unions’ current actions are correct unless these rules are applied equally to both unions and corporations. I would prefer that both groups get out of the political arena, but somehow, I think your editorialists (not to mention most politicians) may be one-sided on this issue. Paul Valanoff Moscow, Idaho

Teacher union evils revealed

Ever so slowly, the truth about the teachers’ union is coming to light. We don’t yet know all the sordid facts about the behind-the-scenes manipulations of union management, but what we do know should set every parent’s skin to crawling.

Teachers are forced to join the union or face harassment. Teachers are forced to pay upwards of $50 per month in union dues. Teachers have no control over how that money is spent.

Until recently, we had no idea where the money was going. Despite the best efforts of Jerry Hopkins, president of the Washington Education Association, and others in union management, we are discovering that the money is disappearing into the campaign coffers of our most liberal politicians. Millions of dollars are being spent, secretly, on frivolous projects like boycotting Florida orange juice, simply because the industry advertised on Rush Limbaugh’s radio program. No matter what your opinion of Limbaugh, this is a terrible waste of valuable potential. Hopkins doesn’t want you to know that this money is being robbed from our children’s future.

Instead we got, as a reward, embarrassingly low test scores from children who are not allowed to learn from teachers who are not allowed to teach.

Teachers in Illinois, Michigan and California have risen to defeat this theft. Now, Washington’s teachers are suing the WEA for using “their hard-earned wages for political causes that have nothing to do with improving education…,” something WEA’s management is hoping to conceal. Michael Wiman Spokane

Davis-Bacon keeps jobs local

Re: “Democrats battle to challenge Nethercutt” (News, Aug. 25).

Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage is not about “keep(ing) nonunion contractors from using cheaper labor to underbid union firms.” In some cases, prevailing wage is actually less than union wage. Prevailing wage is about local contractors bidding on local work, using local workers to build local projects.

Prevailing wage is the predominant wage paid in the area - levels the playing field among contractors. The work tends to be done by local workers, both union and nonunion, because there is no economic advantage to import labor.

The community benefits from Davis-Bacon. Local businesses survive and pay their taxes. Paychecks stay in the local economy - increasing tax revenue and decreasing unemployment costs, as well as supporting the local grocery store and dry cleaner.

Of course, union workers support Davis-Bacon. They understand how important this law is to the economy where they live, raise their kids, pay their taxes, and plan their retirement. Susan Walker Spokane

Union members direct all support

Recent letters to the editor have portrayed organized labor donations to Judy Olson’s campaign as coming from Washington, D.C., implying that her campaign money comes from out-of-state interests rather than local ones. As usual, those who imply this either don’t know what they are talking about or don’t care about the truth.

Any money donated to a candidate for Congress like Judy Olson by international unions - whether they’re headquartered in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles or Seattle - is local money.

Labor’s national political action committees get their money from rank-and-file union members who make personal, voluntary donations, usually $5 or $10, to the PAC fund. And those same members are the ones who request specific donations to candidates in their districts - candidates like Olson, who will advocate for working families.

The truth is that unions are the most democratically run organizations in the world. Any action a union takes is voted upon by its members. The unions’ very existence is determined by an election. And local members vote to decide which candidate gets their endorsement. In our district, they have chosen Olson.

If Olson gets money from a union in Washington, D.C., it’s because members of that union right here in the 5th District requested a donation. It’s their union, their money and they decide what candidate deserves their support. John Leinen Spokane

Time to honor Beck decision

The Aug. 25 commentaries by Michelle Malkin (“Teacher unions lost sight of purpose”) and Kenneth Weinstein and Thomas Wielgus (“Union members not getting bargain,” Region, Aug. 25) were of deep concern to me. The commentaries focused on unions using dues to fund partisan politics not in keeping with many members’ views.

Voters are intelligent and know that the status of our great country depends on their ability to see through political rhetoric and party propaganda. Thank goodness for C-SPAN, CNN, CNBC and other media avenues devoted to providing the public with unadulterated political statements and events.

Perhaps the Clinton administration should enforce the Beck decision, if it is the right thing to do for many working Americans who question how their dues are used, even though the administration gains millions by turning a blind eye to the problem.

I am not anti-union. My stepfather was a union organizer in the early ‘40s. However, collective bargaining was the main theme then.

Perhaps voluntary solicitation of political funds could resolve this matter, but coercion should not be allowed. E. Markham Tai Veradale

IN THE REGION

Ignore the static; Wills is great

Another article bashing Bill Wills, Adams County commissioner, in the Spokesman-Review Periscope Aug. 19. I am appalled at what lengths some people will go to downgrade a candidate. Who would want these “bashers” in a public office? Certainly not me!

Wills is one of the most honest, compassionate persons I know. With only a grade school education, Wills is an intelligent, self-made man who has come a long way in this world. He tells it like it is, which is, I’m sure, not what some people would like to hear. He looks to what is best for the county, our communities and the people who live here.

The article mentioned morals. A grown child’s problems should not be visited on the parents. They live in separate households and what adult children do is their business, not that of the parents. Bill and Jeanette Wills are two of the finest people in Adams County. He would give you his last dime and the shirt off his back because he cares for his fellow man.

Let’s not give these political mongers the satisfaction of depriving us of one fine commissioner because his 42- and 39-year-old “kids” got into trouble. We must get out and vote in the Sept. 17 primary if we are to retain Wills as our commissioner, district 1. Sharon R. Englehart Lind, Wash.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.