WEA = Washington Extortionist Association

 

Source:  ShiftWA.org

Thanks to the political control the Washington Education Association (WEA) has purchased over Democrat lawmakers in Olympia, Washington State ranks 47^th in the country in returning public school students to in-person instruction.  According to the independent research site Burbio.com, only 19.2% of Washington’s public-school students are receiving any in-person instruction (while many private school students have been safely back in school for months).  Meanwhile, Chair Lisa Wellman (D – Mercer Island) of the Washington State Senate Education Committee is following orders from the Democrats’ major campaign contributors at the WEA and killing bills which would safely return students to the classroom.  Sen. Wellman has already killed the bi-partisan SB 5037, which would have safely reopened schools, in her committee.  Reportedly Sen. Wellman will also do the same to SB 5464, a bill introduced by Senator John Braun (R – Centralia) and Senator Lynda Wilson (R – Vancouver), which would require school districts to offer in-person instruction unless specifically prohibited by the governor or health officials.  This obedience to the powerful and wealthy teachers union is nothing new for Senator Wellman.  She has a long track record of putting the needs of the adults in the teachers’ unions above the needs of the students.  During her 2016 endorsement interview with the Seattle Times, Wellman was asked about a major education funding issue. Wellman was unaware of the issue and her immediate response was to ask what the WEA’s position was on the topic, since her position would be the same. (Washington Policy Center, Burbio, Washington Legislature Bill Summary, and Seattle Times)

The Democrats are also hypocritically following union orders when it comes to killing legislation which would end the racially discriminatory practice of state-required occupational licenses.  Washington State unions have demanded that legislators require these state-controlled licenses for many jobs which immigrants and low-income workers seek to obtain to improve their lives.  The processes for obtaining these licenses are often very time-consuming and expensive, and thus state requirements are preventing many individuals from working in their chosen profession (which they may have already been doing in their home country).  A report from the Washington Policy Center states, “Washington state is particularly difficult for low- and middle-class workers looking for licenses, which requires licenses for about 77 percent of occupations for those workers. No other state is more restrictive.” The bi-partisan bill HB 1400 was introduced to remove many of these restrictions.  Yet, when it came time to act on the bill, Chair Steve Kirby (D – Tacoma) of the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee followed the instruction of union bosses and killed the bill in his committee (even though Representative Kirby was one of the sponsors of the legislation).  So while Democrats keep proclaiming they are all for “equity”, their actions prove their support for this ideal is limited to items which do not negatively impact the power or bank accounts of their campaign contributors. (Washington Policy Center and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

A report released by the Washington State Department of Health, from the Institute for Disease Modeling, reveals that following health and safety guidelines in schools is a more effective method for minimizing the spread of COVID-19 than vaccinating teachers.  This is the latest research that demonstrates that the Washington Education Association’s demand for full teacher and staff vaccination before returning to in-person instruction is not based on scientific data.  The report also shows that infection rates within schools are nearly identical to the rates within their communities. (Institute for Disease Modeling)