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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Thursday, Nov. 06, 2008

How to keep union dues from politics

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To answer the question posed in "Spend member dues elsewhere" (Oct. 26, Letters): Yes, there is a way for teachers' dues to be excluded from donations to issues that they feel are morally reprehensible. Any teacher may go to their union's office and request to become an agency fee payer.

All union dues collected by the local teachers' union, California Teachers Association and National Education Association that are used for political purposes of any kind are reimbursed to the teacher annually.

Your union rep will tell you that if you do this you will lose the million dollar liability insurance provided by NEA. That's OK, because you can join another teacher association and get your insurance there. I belong to the Association of American Educators. I pay an annual membership fee of $150 -- $25 of that is for the premium for a $2 million liability insurance policy. I get well over $400 of my dues reimbursed every year. That gives me at least $250 each year that I can donate to my church or other organizations who represent the same values in the community that I hold dear.

WILLIAM J. FREDERICKS

Modesto