Report: Ohio Education Association Helps Obama Campaign Lobby for Gun Control

by Chad D. Baus

MediaTrackers.org reported recently that The Ohio Education Association (OEA) is assisting Organizing for Action (OFA) in its lobbying for new gun control laws, using social media accounts maintained with teachers' mandatory union dues.

From the article:

The afternoon of August 22, OEA linked to a BarackObama.com gun control petition from the union's official Facebook page:

At roughly the same time, an abbreviated version of the same message was posted to the union's official Twitter account.

OEA's Facebook and Twitter posts both linked to an online form displaying Dinica Quesada's ohea.org email address. Quesada, a "UNISERV Communications Specialist," was paid $96,279 last year, according to OEA's annual report with the U.S. Department of Labor.

OEA reported 59 percent of Quesada's time during fiscal year 2012 as "General Overhead," and 41 percent of Quesada's time as "Administration."

"Fair share" or "agency" fees that teachers who opt out of OEA membership are forced to pay are meant to reflect the value OEA representation provides. However, the legal process for requesting a refund is guaranteed to draw attention from union employees whose six-figure salaries come from teachers' pockets.

OEA claims to speak for all Ohio teachers, but the union heavily favors liberal policies and politicians. That the union is coordinating efforts with President Obama's "nonpartisan" former campaign committee is no surprise, since OEA forcefully advocated for the 2008 election and 2012 reelection of President Obama.

In 2012, OEA President Patricia Frost-Brooks was named "Democrat of the Year" by the Ohio Democratic Party. Prioritization of leftist politics over actual teaching skill extends to OEA's most powerful local affiliates, as well.

Due to the union's constant drumbeat for bigger government – using drums paid for with Ohio educators' forced dues – OEA currently faces a class-action suit filed by "fair share" fee-payers who claim OEA has failed to justify taking so much money from their paychecks.

This isn't the first time the OEA has used teacher's dues to advocate against gun rights. The union made news earlier this year when OEA President Patricia Frost-Brooks issued a statement denouncing the arming of willing teachers to protect defenseless school children from active killers.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.