On Thursday, an out-of-state activist group filed multiple complaint letters alleging certain Idaho school districts are violating the law by allowing the Idaho Education Association to collect union dues via payroll deduction.
The Freedom Foundation (not to be confused with the unaffiliated Idaho Freedom Foundation) filed complaints with Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador and prosecutors in Bonner, Bonneville, Kootenai and Canyon counties. The group urges prosecutors to take legal action under the state’s right-to-work law and the Public Integrity in Elections Act, claiming that union dues are used on political activity and lobbying.
IEA and NEA dues are not used to fund political activity. IEA members may voluntarily contribute to the union’s Political Action Committee for Education (PACE), but that payment is separate from dues. PACE payments will never be collected through school districts.
“Groups like the Freedom Foundation have so far been unsuccessful in blocking payroll deduction for union dues at the Statehouse level, although attempts to do so have come the last two years,” said IEA Executive Director Paul Stark. “This is a desperate ploy to bully districts into complying with the Freedom Foundation’s anti-union agenda.”
The districts mentioned in the Freedom Foundation’s letter include Bonneville, Caldwell, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Falls, Kuna, Lake Pend Oreille, Marsing, Middleton, Mullan, New Plymouth, Post Falls and Shelley.
“This action is a prime example of why it’s so important that every single member makes the switch to IEA AutoPay now,” Stark said. “We have made a lot of progress over the past year, but we are not at 100 percent enrollment yet. Until we are, your union will be hounded by spurious legal actions and targeted legislation at the Idaho Statehouse.”
The Freedom Foundation is a non-profit with offices in Washington, Oregon, California, Ohio and Pennsylvania. It was founded in the early 1990s to combat unions and is notorious for using the judicial system to force action. Since then, its aggressive tactics have even included phishing scams to trick union members into canceling their memberships.
Your union has a plan for combatting anti-public education forces like the Freedom Foundation.
May Matters is IEA’s campaign to reclaim Idaho’s public school and the political landscape of Idaho through the ballot box during the May 2026 Primary Election. While the details are still being worked out, the union is joining forces with a wide variety of Idaho interest holders and election experts. The result will be a statewide grassroots campaign to return sensible Idahoans to the Idaho Legislature and other elected offices that impact public education.
Join members across the state for a special town hall meeting on Tuesday, March 25. Learn more and register through the link below.
“Every IEA member has a role to play in our May Matter campaign,” Stark said. “We have an achievable plan that will succeed only with our members’ participation. It’s crucial to the future of public education in Idaho that they get involved. Enough is enough!”
