Michigan Union Dues at Work

The Michigan Education Association is suing the Mackinac Center for Public Policy for quoting the union's president in a fundraising letter.



According to the Detroit Free Press:

The letter said: "This fall, Luigi Battaglieri ... stated, 'Frankly, I admire what the Mackinac Center has done.' Mr. Battaglieri, whose union is generally at odds with the Mackinac Center, said this with respect to how Mackinac Center research has shaped education reform in Michigan and around the nation."

The quote was taken from a speech Battaglieri gave last September in Lansing. The letter was sent last November.

MEA spokeswoman Margaret Trimer-Hartley said the union sued because the Mackinac Center is using Battaglieri's name to raise money. She angrily denied the Mackinac Center's charge that the MEA is trying to stifle free speech.

The Institute for Justice is defending Mackinac and their Litigation Backgrounder is here. If the judge does not dismiss the case by the end of summer, trial is set for November.