Politics
Thursday June 22, 2006
See today's LifeSiteNews stories
Washington Teachers Union Refuses Union Dues Transfer Away from Abortion Support
By Gudrun Schultz
WASHINGTON, United States, June 22, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The teachers union of Washington state has refused to allow a Christian teacher to have her union dues diverted to an organization that fights sex-trafficking, reported Focus on the Family’s CitizenLink yesterday.
Teacher Susan Wiggs objected to the Washington Education Association’s support of abortion and gay marriage and requested that her union dues be directed to Shared Hope International, a charitable organization dedicated to the eradication of sex trafficking and slavery of women and children.
The union rejected her choice, saying Shared Hope was not qualified.
Michael Reitz is director of labour policy at the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a non-profit public policy research group that promotes individual freedom and limited government. “It’s just absurd that the WEA would refuse to divert this teacher’s dues to an organization that’s dedicated to ending the sex-trafficking of children,” Reitz told CitizenLink.
“There are dozens of cases that have said that if you are a teacher where you are required to pay dues to a union—if you have a religious objection to that—you are free to divert your dues to a charity.”
Reitz and Wiggs both said they believe the union refused to recognize Shared Hope because the organization has strongly Christian roots.
In a similar incident in Canada last April, one of the country’s largest unions refused to allow a Catholic member to divert her dues to a charity after she objected to the union’s support of gay “marriage” legislation.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) denied Susan Comstock’s request despite a clause in PSAC’s collective agreement that allows a member to divert their dues to charity for reasons of religion or conscience. The union said that clause did not apply to her. PSAC openly supports homosexuality, urging all levels of government to “recognize and protect lesbian and gay relationships and families.”
See related LifeSiteNews coverage:
Canadian Union Refuses Member’s Right to Oppose Gay “Marriage”
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/apr/06041902.html
Back to TopSHARE THIS STORY: E-mail Print Newsvine Digg Reddit Del.icio.us Facebook
Latest Headlines
- Gov. Sarah Palin Gives Frank Speech About Abortion and Obama's Pro-Abortion Record - Video excerpt
- Canadian Pro-Life Leader Gives Last Minute Information to Federal Election Voters
- Addressing the American and Canadian Voters from Abroad
- After Two Weeks of 40 Days for Life - 114 Babies Saved from Abortion
- Boycott Successful: McDonald's Abandons Homosexual Activism
- Obama Not Natural Born Citizen? Ineligible to Run For President?
- Toronto Archbishop Decries Morgentaler Order of Canada - Sets Sunday as Day of Prayer Against Abortion
- Shock: Connecticut Supreme Court Strikes Down State Ban on Same-sex "Marriage"
- Massachusetts Bishops Vacillate on Defense of Marriage Petition Campaign
- Victoria, Australia Decriminalises Abortion: Criminalises Doctors' Consciences
- Pro-life Efforts Redouble as U.K. Embryo Bill Goes Back to House of Commons
- Mark Steyn "Not Guilty" of "Islamophobia": Human Rights Commission
- Gibbons Charged With Disobeying a Court Order
- Host Desecration Videos Back on YouTube
- Brampton Catholic High School To Host Pro-abort Liberal Leader Stephane Dion
- Exclusive Interview with "Fireproof" Co-Star Erin Bethea
- Oregon Court Orders Frozen Embryos Destroyed, Considered "Property Rights" Issue
- Canadian Archdiocese Advertising Fundraiser for Anti-Catholic Abortion/Condom Promoter
- Barbara Kay - Poland's "preemie miracle" is an embarrassing postscript to Henry Morgentaler's Order of Canada
- US Election News Highlights - October 11, 2008
- LifeSiteNews.com NewsBytes for October 11, 2008
Most Read this Week
- Massachusetts Bishops Vacillate on Defense of Marriage Petition Campaign
- Canadian Artist and Catholic Novelist Michael O'Brien on Modesty in the Culture of Shamelessness
- Amazing Stories Come out of 2008 Life Chain
- Boycott Successful: McDonald's Abandons Homosexual Activism
- Heartland Christian Church Demands Peaceful Pro-Life LifeChain Participants Leave
- Mandatory Homosexual Indoctrination in Grade School Survives after Supreme Court Turns Down Case
- The Silver Lining of an Obama Victory
- The Palin-Biden Debate and Where Things Stand Now
- Harper Would Have to Personally Kill an Unborn Baby to Avoid the Hidden Agenda Charge
- After Two Weeks of 40 Days for Life - 114 Babies Saved from Abortion
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.