Cleveland, OH — Kathleen Klamut first spoke publicly against abortion in a speech she gave for a University of Akron course in the early 1980s. Her classmates booed her. Years later, her opposition to abortion compelled her to resist paying union dues when she worked as a psychologist for the Louisville, Ohio, school district.
Klamut considers the Ohio Education Association and its national affiliate to be pro-abortion because of some of its political stances.
Klamut, of Mogadore, wanted to send her union dues to a charity. An agreement negotiated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1999 – prompted by her filing a complaint – allowed her to do so.
Now Klamut wants to do the same thing at her new place of employment, Ravenna City Schools. She is a part-time psychologist there.
She filed a complaint with the commission last week, claiming the union discriminated against her for religious reasons.
Her union local president, Jackie O'Connor, told Klamut the contract has no provision for donating money to charity instead of paying dues.
And the Ravenna local, which represents about 240 teachers, is not bound by the Louisville pact, she said.
“She seems like a very nice lady, and I understand how she feels,” O'Connor said. “But I have to stand by that contract, and that's what I'm trying to do.”
Chris Lopez, the OEA chief attorney, said Friday that the union routinely responds to religious objectors. A worker need only submit a letter asking that the fees be diverted.
However, Klamut says she has received no signals from her local or the OEA
regional consultant that they would work with her.
“All they say is, You have to pay,' ” she said.
Lopez said he does not know why local and regional OEA representatives rebuffed Klamut, but the sides should be able to agree.
“I am confident that we'll be able to reach an accommodation with her,” Lopez said.
A mother of two who describes herself as a feminist, Klamut said she has no choice but to stand up for what she thinks is right.
“I am not a fighter, but I'm very firm in my convictions,” she said.
(This article courtesy of Steven Ertelt and the Pro-Life Infonet email newsletter. For more information or to subscribe go to www.prolifeinfo.org or email infonet@prolifeinfo.org.)
