Who would obstruct the fight against sex trafficking of
children? The Vancouver Education Association (VEA) comes to mind.
The teachers union, a local chapter of the National Education
Association, has refused to allow a teacher to send her union dues
to Shared Hope International, a charity working to prevent
trafficking and sexual slavery.
Washington state teachers are required to pay union dues as a
condition of employment. Federal law, however, says that employees
who have religious objections to union membership can divert their
dues to a “mutually agreed upon” charity in order to accommodate
their religious beliefs.
A teacher in the Vancouver School District has been attempting
to do just that. She found the union’s stance on various social
policies to be in conflict with her personal beliefs. In August
2005, she requested permission to send her dues to Shared Hope.
The charity, founded by former Congresswoman Linda Smith, is a
leader in the “worldwide effort to prevent and eradicate sex
trafficking and slavery through education and public
awareness.”
Amazingly, VEA executive director Roy Maier refused the
teacher’s request, claiming the charity was “not acceptable.”
Puzzled, the teacher provided a letter from Shared Hope documenting
the organization’s non-profit status. The union still refused.
This isn’t the first time the VEA has violated a teacher’s civil
rights. Several years ago another teacher seeking religious
accommodation brought a case against the union in federal court.
The VEA settled the case and adopted a policy for dealing with
religious objectors. The policy goes beyond the typical legal
requirements by stating: “the goal is to respect the objector’s
choice of charities, so long as the designated recipient is lawful
and charitable.”
The union recently offered to send the Vancouver teacher’s dues
to a local crisis pregnancy center … but still refuses to
accommodate her choice.
The mission of the Vancouver Education Association is “the
attainment of a quality education of the children they serve.”
Regardless of one’s political views, we can all agree that the
effort to rescue vulnerable children from predators is a worthy
cause.
But despite federal law, a clearly stated union policy, and a
mission to help children, the teachers union continues to block a
teacher’s attempt to rescue kids from sexual slavery.
That’s “not acceptable.”
Michael Reitz is legal counsel and director of labor
policy for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a public policy
research organization based in Olympia,
Washington.
