Dear Colleague,

The Freedom Foundation and Choice for Teachers are at it again, contacting WEA members and encouraging them to drop union membership. They’ve sent mailers to many members this week. They’ve also been known to send email and have shown up at our members’ homes. They often state that you can get a refund, but what they don’t tell you is that if you follow up on their “offer,” you are resigning union membership. Don’t fall for their tactics.

They may portray themselves as pro-worker or pro-education, but the truth is they oppose most of the things we believe in: smaller class sizes, better pay for educators, fully funded public schools and the ability to negotiate with our employers. The Freedom Foundation is part of a national network that wants to weaken unions because we provide the best opportunity to level the economic playing field for all educators.

When we are united, our collective voice achieves powerful results for our students and ourselves. We need to remain unified and strong to build upon our recent successes in local bargains and in Olympia. With a strong, united membership, we have the power to improve and protect our rights and economic security, and to fight for the best interests of our students.

If you want to know more about the “Freedom Foundation,” check out this flyer.

If you have any questions please reach out to your building representatives, local presidents or WEA Council staff.

Ray Nelson, NTEA President