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.
Information on political contributions by Colorado teacher organizations has been updated to reflect campaign reports through September 10. Here are the new totals. First, for CEA:
Through September 10, the Colorado Education Association (CEA) and its affiliates, mostly through Every Member Option funds, have reported $825,885 in political contributions during the current election cycle – including:
* $280,685 to Democratic candidates and party organizations
* $200,000 to the 527 group Colorado Citizens’ Coalition to support “progressive” political candidates
* $150,000 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 September 10, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Colorado has reported $28,375 in political contributions during the current election cycle – $26,875 to Democratic candidates and party organizations and $0 to Republicans.
Information on political contributions by Colorado teacher organizations has been updated to reflect campaign reports through the month of July. Here are the new totals:
Through July 30, the Colorado Education Association (CEA) and its affiliates, mostly through Every Member Option funds, have reported $450,552 in political contributions during the current election cycle – including:
$150,000 to the 527 group Accountability for Colorado to support political candidates
$112,975 to Democratic candidates and party organizations
$7,125 to Republican candidates and party organizations
