TRUMBULL COUNTY OEA seeks dues from teachers in Weathersfield

WARREN -- The Ohio Education Association wants a judge to order the Weathersfield Teachers Association to pay union dues.
OEA filed a complaint Thursday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court listing WTA, its president and treasurer as defendants.
OEA says that WTA is an affiliate and that the State Employment Relations Board certified OEA as the exclusive representatives of teachers employed by the Weathersfield School District, but OEA hasn't received WTA's dues since September.
Jennifer Staunton, WTA president, said the union voted last June to leave OEA and finished paying dues for the year.
"We feel we don't owe them anything," she said.
WTA didn't feel it was well represented by OEA.
"The dues are too high, they increased every year and our salaries are not keeping up with that," Staunton said.
She said members want to disaffiliate from OEA. Their latest effort is to file a recertification of the union through SERB which may lead to them organizing under a different name.
"They act like the only people who can disaffiliate is them," Staunton said. "They won't let us go."