Sacramento, California (October 17, 2005) – The National Right to Work Foundation today launched a statewide radio advertising campaign with an ad recorded by State Senator Tom McClintock and 5th grade teacher Judy Liegmann, lead plaintiff in the pending class action lawsuit against the state’s largest teacher union.
The ad educates the public about the scandalous misuse of compulsory dues for politics and directs employees to www.californiafreedomproject.org, where they may obtain free legal assistance in asserting their constitutional rights.
“It takes enormous courage for classroom teachers to stand up to the union bosses. They’re fighting for the right of every one of us to make our own decisions – free from union coercion… And I, for one, am proud to stand with them,” says McClintock in the one minute ad spot.
The ad campaign comes on the heels of a recent U.S. District Court ruling not to issue a temporary restraining order to freeze immediately forced union dues seizures from teachers statewide, spent for politics, until due process is given. A class-action lawsuit filed by teachers and faculty with help from Foundation attorneys continues to seek a ruling that union officials must notify union member educators of their right to resign from formal union membership and refuse to pay the mandatory dues increase.
A sworn declaration filed by the California Teacher Association (CTA) union’s accountant in recent days reveals that the union has already spent the $60 million raised by the three-year dues increase levied against teachers and is attempting to secure an additional $40 million loan to battle Governor Schwarzenegger’s ballot initiatives. Union officials’ spending of teachers’ forced union dues could approach $100 million before the special election next month.
Aside from making a statewide advertising buy, the National Right to Work Foundation has also distributed radio public service announcements across California and established a special web-site that provides teachers with information on how to object and reclaim their dues.
Since the educators filed their suit, CTA union officials have already backpedaled and indicated they will now, in fact, allow non-union members to get their $60 back this fall. But, at the same time, union officials stand firm in refusing even to inform their 300,000+ members of their right to resign and object. These rights are nevertheless limited – as resignation from formal union membership results in the union brass barring teachers from voting on union contracts and denying access to liability insurance.
An “mp3”-format copy of the radio ad featuring Senator McClintock is available for download at https://www.nrtw.org/california/video/teacherv3.mp3.
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.
