By Victor Skinner
EAGnews.org

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Big Labor bosses in Washington State are pouring more money into efforts to elect union-friendly state politicians than they are into the campaign to keep charter schools out of the Evergreen State.

A columnist for The Daily Herald notes that the Washington Education Association has contributed $100,000 to oppose a ballot proposal that would allow a handful of charter schools to take root in the state. But the financial backing is far less than the $1.3 million the WEA, the National Education Association and local affiliates spent to successfully stop a similar effort in 2004.

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This year, the NEA and local unions haven’t contributed anything to the “No on 1240” campaign to maintain the ban on charter schools.

While WEA officials contend they’re still focused on opposing the charter ballot proposal, “They’ve had to set priorities like every other interest group,” Herald columnist Jerry Cornfield writes.

“Looking at where the WEA spends its money, it’s pretty clear what those priorities are: It wants union-friendly candidates elected to run Washington more than keeping charter schools from planting flags on state soil.”

The teachers unions have sent $1.15 million to a political action committee aimed at discrediting Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna – a move to help elect Democratic nominee Jay Inslee.

Union bosses also spent $47,000 for mailers and commercials supporting Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, a union Democrat who heads the state’s Senate education committee, Cornfield writes.

So while the teachers unions still hate charter schools, and have vowed to continue to fight school choice options, they’re more concerned with preserving their power in the state capitol.

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Perhaps all of this means that the union recognizes that voters are ready to approve charter schools, and there’s no point in wasting too much money fighting it.