December 15 marks the annual deadline for Colorado Education Association members to request a refund of “Every Member Option” union funds used to support state and local political campaigns. Last year’s attention-getting 45-second video is worth watching to find out the information, or just for the nostalgic refresher:
In addition to the $39 EMO available from CEA — which can be requested electronically or by old-fashioned mail — a number of other districts have additional EMO political refund options with additional opt-out requirements. To learn all the specifics click on any of the following districts that require refunds on or shortly after December 15 (with the amount available):
Pikes Peak ($6) (Pikes Peak EA includes Academy 20, Calhan, Canon City, Cheyenne Mountain, Cripple Creek, Ellicott, Falcon 49, Fremont Re-2, Fountain-Fort Carson 8, Hanover 28, Harrison 2, Lewis-Palmer 38, Manitou Springs 14, Miami-Yoder 60JT, Peyton 23, Widefield 3 and Woodland Park Re-2)
If you are a Colorado public school teacher, or know one, please feel free to share this post and the video. You could be making a difference and giving someone another reason to give thanks during this special holiday season.
Check out this new Independent Teachers video about what happens when a non-union school employee who is forced to opt out of paying union fees every year misses the deadline because of family medical emergencies:
Due to family medical hardships, non-union Pueblo school employee Becky Robertson missed an annual deadline to opt out of union fee paycheck deductions. The union rejected her appeal. Though she had chosen not to be a union member, Becky ended up paying the union hundreds of dollars that could have been used for medical bills and other expenses. Why do Colorado laws allow this type of abuse to continue?
Which Colorado school district employees are affected by union fee opt-out policies for non-union members? Read more…
Click on the postcard for more information about requesting one or more refunds before the December 15 deadline.
OR Watch this 2-minute video explanation by a Jefferson County teacher:
OR Listen to an overview of the Every Member Option and some frequently asked questions on a 3-minute podcast by clicking the play button below (if you can’t see the player, or it doesn’t work, click here to listen):
The annual cost of full-time membership in the teachers union depends on the school district in which you work. For 2008-09, each full-time member pays $363 to the Colorado Education Association and $158 to the National Education Association headquarters. The local portion of union dues vary by location. Here is a sample of the TOTAL dues costs for 2008-09:
Westminster (Adams 50): $812
Aurora: $735
Littleton: $726
Jefferson County: $725
Lewis Palmer: $712
Canon City: $708
Academy 20: $707
By comparison, members of the Douglas County Federation of Teachers (Colorado’s largest local affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers) pay $431 in dues for 2008-09.
The Independent Teachers website is not the only place keeping tabs on political contributions made with the professional dues money of Colorado public educators. This week, Ed News Colorado ran a great story by Nancy Mitchell documenting the recent history of campaign-related giving by the Colorado Education Association and its affiliates:
The CEA and its local unions gave more than $600,000 directly to state legislative candidates over the five years, often piling on in tight races. Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, the chair of the Senate Education Committee and one of the top recipients of teachers’ union donations, hit the contribution limit from the statewide CEA and from each of the Denver, Fort Collins and Jefferson County unions in his hard-fought 2004 election victory….
Attention, Colorado teachers and other public education employees: Do you belong as a member (or as a non-member fee-payer) to the Colorado Education Association? If so, how much do you know about how your dues money is used? It’s a good question, isn’t it? If you went to the CEA office, or your local union office, and asked to see the financial records from the most recent fiscal year, what would you find out?
Part of your dues money goes directly to the National Education Association ($158 for full-time members in 2008-09). You can learn about the NEA’s revenues and expenditures by going to this official U.S. Department of Labor site, typing 000-342 in the File Number box at the top, and clicking “Submit”.
But $363 of full-time union members’ money goes to CEA. And you know what? CEA is exempt from the requirement to file the Labor Department disclosure. So is your local association and your local UniServ office – where anywhere from another $175 to $290 per year in full-time dues goes.
So have you gone down to the CEA or local union office to ask to take a look at the books? If so, what did you find out? Wouldn’t it be easier to see an annual report filed online with a Colorado state agency – something like the reports filed with the U.S. Department of Labor?
In this 2-minute video, a Jefferson County teacher advertises the Independent Teachers site and tells interested Colorado Education Association members how they can get refunds from CEA ($39) and their local unions (as much as $24) before December 15:
You will find sample letters you can download and print from your computer that can be filled out quickly and easily, and dropped in the mail. In some cases, it’s even easier: There’s an email address to which you can send your refund request. Again, you will find this information on the Political Refunds page.
Information on political contributions by Colorado teacher organizations has been updated to reflect campaign reports through October 8. Here are the new totals. First, for CEA:
Through October 8, the Colorado Education Association (CEA) and its affiliates, mostly through Every Member Option funds, have reported $890,335 in political contributions during the current election cycle – including:
* $422,635 to Democratic candidates and party organizations
* $200,000 to the 527 group Colorado Citizens’ Coalition to support “progressive” political candidates
* $173,500 to the 527 group Accountability for Colorado to support political candidates — Accountability for Colorado is also funded by liberal billionaires from the “Gang of Four”
* $9,250 to Republican candidates and party organizations — that’s 1 dollar to Republicans for every 30 dollars to Democrats
And for AFT:
Through October 8, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Colorado has reported $28,775 in political contributions during the current election cycle – $28,775 to Democratic candidates and party organizations and $0 to Republicans.
