Are you a Washington state teacher who has been surveyed by the Washington Education Association to determine how they view “gay marriage”? I haven’t been. Despite this, the WEA testified in support of the gay marriage bill, saying it spoke on behalf of 88,000 teachers.
Teachers are sick of having their union dues exploited for controversial, noneducation issues. All over the state, teachers are quitting the union and exercising their rights to a rebate for nonrepresentation activity or are becoming religious objectors sending their mandatory union dues to a charity. They’re joining Northwest Professional Educators, for which I am executive director.
NPE is a nonunion, nonpartisan professional association for its liability insurance, legal services, and various resources designed to foster teacher professionalism, giving them the security that they are protected and represented in case a crisis or concern arises.
Teachers don’t have to put up with partisan politics, labor union tactics, and high expense of WEA membership that is harming our profession. With NWPE’s nonbargaining support and referrals for negotiations assistance, teachers can establish effective local-only associations that will help advance the respect and reward that teachers deserve.
