—and one of my concerns when I was a member was that our union dues were used to front certain political campaigns. I was one person who didn't really know where my dues were going. I would see in a paper or I would see in other locations what my union dues were going to support, without knowing the details. We saw the evidence that was there, but we never really understood how much was going to those campaigns.
Considering that most of these public sector unions avoid a lot of taxes—they're associations and so aren't taxed, accordingly—in our minds, when we brought forward this legislation.... I know that the people who brought these measures forward honestly brought them forward to see change in a positive way for folks like me and other members who have the same thoughts I have.
I would just ask you how, in terms of your membership, you square that circle. It hit me really quite hard when I saw supporting.... I'm not saying they didn't support my party and that therefore I'm angry about this; absolutely not. I was a teacher and thought that my classroom was a non-partisan place and that my association should be a non-partisan place as well. To see dues used for political purposes and not fully understand how much was actually going there was a hard circle to square.
Do you have any thoughts on that? How do we make this better from now on? We think we know the direction it's going. How do you make this better for folks like me?