Union members challenge use of their dues

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Two Canadian women in British Columbia are challenging their unions for using their dues to support a socialist political party.

Four unions are in a legal battle over a new provincial law that limits their eligibility to provide third-party funding to political candidates.

The two educators -- Gloria Laurence, a member of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, and Wendy Weis, a member of the British Columbia Teachers Federation -- sought and received approval to be heard by the British Columbia Supreme Court in the case.

"We strongly believe that union dues should be used for collective bargaining purposes only, not for political advertising," Laurence said in a statement. "We want the court to hear our voices in this case, because at the very least, we want to limit how much of our union dues can be spent on political causes."

Part of what led to the new third-party funding law was that in the 2005 provincial election, four British Columbia unions spent nearly $3 million trying to get the socialist New Democratic Party elected, the statement said.