*This letter to the editor originally appeared in The Olympian*

**Union should have given back money**

The Washington Federation of State Employees union’s spin doctor Tim Welch lied to The Olympian when he claimed that the state workers represented by the National Right to Work Foundation attorneys “settled for a tiny fraction of what they asked for.”

Perhaps higher-ups at the WFSE realized this, because the false statement was quietly removed from the union’s Web site less than a day after it was posted. The state workers settled their suit against the union only because it had been rendered moot by its own success, and WFSE officials were embarrassed into correcting every single violation of constitutional rights addressed in the suit.

Although victorious on every count, there was only so much that could be accomplished by the foundation’s lawsuit. The real lesson here is that until Washington passes a Right to Work law that would make union membership and dues payment strictly optional, union bosses will continue to bully employees into joining the union – and seek further firings.

Union officials should have given back the estimated $10 million in dues seized under their admittedly illegal threats, because it would have been the right thing to do.

Adding insult to injury, state workers are forced to pay the salary of union officials like Welch, who spews his disdain for employees’ constitutional rights to the press.

Justin Hakes
Legal Information Director
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation

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.