Veteran teacher wins settlement from Ohio Education Association

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(The Center Square) – The Ohio Education Association settled a lawsuit with a veteran teacher who wanted to stop being a union member and end automatic withdrawal of dues from her credit card.

Beth Queen, a 30-year high school science teacher at Poland Seminary High School, sued the National Education Association in June after a new collective bargaining agreement removed a stipend Queen used to get to teach biology labs.

Unhappy with what amounted to a $9,000 pay cut, Queen quit the Poland Education Association, the OEA and the NEA, according to The Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based policy group that filed the lawsuit on Queen’s behalf.

The associations acknowledged Queen had left the groups, but continued to charge Queen’s credit card for dues.

The suit asked for the groups to stop charging her credit card for dues, refund the money taken after she quit the union, for the court to order the union not to take any more dues from her, and court costs.

Terms of the settlement were not released, according to The Buckeye Institute.

“With this settlement, the OEA properly recognized Ms. Queen’s claims and avoided costly and protracted litigation for all involved,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute and an attorney representing Queen.