12 Dec 2008

Worker Advocate: How Dare You Threaten National Right to Work and Its Supporters on National TV, Mr. Gettelfinger!

Posted in News Releases

Washington, DC (December 12, 2008) – Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, made the following statement today in response to United Auto Workers (UAW) union president Ron Gettelfinger’s angry lashing out on national television at the legal foundation’s efforts to defend workers from forced unionism abuse:

"How dare you blame the current debacle in the automotive business on efforts to give workers the right to join or not join a union. These problems have been caused by the forced unionism stranglehold you currently enjoy.

"Make no mistake; you will never get your hands on the list of the National Right to Work Foundation’s contributors. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of generous Americans have helped our organization provide free legal aid to the employee victims of your forced unionism hierarchy. We will NEVER allow these folks to be put into harm’s way by making their identities known to your goons."

Ron Gettelfinger held a press conference aired today on various television networks in which he implied the union hierarchy’s problems result from external factors, rather than forced unionism that has brought the Big Three to its knees. "We’ve [sic] also up against National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation who we don’t even know who they are, because we can’t find out who their contributors are," he announced.

Gettelfinger was referencing a 13-year legal battle by the UAW and 12 other international unions intended to force the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation to reveal the names and addresses of its contributors. During the litigation, union lawyers finally admitted they wanted to send the contributor list to local union chiefs all over the country. They wanted to make “discreet inquiries” about the contributors in their areas.

Ultimately this largest multi-union lawsuit in history ended in a loss for union lawyers, but not after lower courts had nearly thrown then-Foundation president Reed Larson in jail twice for defiance of court orders demanding release of the contributor list.

The Foundation’s support comes from all kinds of people — union members, nonunion employees, small business owners, charitable foundations and others. Many of them would be subjected to vicious retaliation if the union bosses could just learn their identities. Blacklisting, beatings, bombings, and arson are just a few of the tactics union “enforcers” use against those who oppose them.

12 Dec 2008

Worker Advocate: How Dare You Threaten National Right to Work and Its Supporters on National TV, UAW Boss Gettelfinger!

Posted in Blog, News Releases

Today UAW top boss Ron Gettelfinger lashed out at the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation by name during a press conference because it has been effective in defending workers from union abuse:

Foundation President Mark Mix issued the following statement in response to Gettelfinger:

Worker Advocate: How Dare You Threaten National Right to Work and Its Supporters on National TV, Mr. Gettelfinger!

Angry auto union boss blames voluntary unionism group for the auto industry’s problems, wants a list of the group’s financial backers

Washington, DC (December 12, 2008) – Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, made the following statement today in response to United Auto Workers (UAW) union president Ron Gettelfinger’s angry lashing out on national television at the legal foundation’s efforts to defend workers from forced unionism abuse:

"How dare you blame the current debacle in the automotive business on efforts to give workers the right to join or not join a union. These problems have been caused by the forced unionism stranglehold you currently enjoy.

"Make no mistake; you will never get your hands on the list of the National Right to Work Foundation’s contributors. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of generous Americans have helped our organization provide free legal aid to the employee victims of your forced unionism hierarchy. We will NEVER allow these folks to be put into harm’s way by making their identities known to your goons."

(Read the entire release here.)

 

11 Dec 2008

BlagoGate II – Podcast Edition

Posted in Blog

Foundation VP Stefan Gleason sits down with Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey to discuss disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s connection to union corruption:

You can also listen to the Foundation’s podcast via iTunes or manually subscribe to the feed. The Foundation’s previous coverage of Blagojevich can be found here, here, and here.

[Note: Some listeners have reported technical difficulties while using the Firefox web browser. If you’re having problems, click here to listen.]

10 Dec 2008

Blagogate: Stern’s SEIU Got Tens of Millions in Forced Dues Revenue After Giving Campaign Support

Posted in Blog

Today’s Washington Post has a good rundown of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s alleged pay-for-play deal with a high-ranking Service Employees International Union boss we’ve been telling you about. This paragraph is particularly revealing:

[SEIU president Andrew] Stern has emerged as a central player in the labor movement by pressing aggressively to expand union rolls, along the way irritating AFL-CIO leaders, whom he accused of being complacent, and leaders of some SEIU chapters who accuse him of cutting deals with business and government that enhance his profile while undercutting local chapters. Among his victories was Blagojevich’s decision to let SEIU, and not the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, organize Illinois’ child-care workers.

Stern’s personal machinations to secure his own PR are entirely at odds with workers’ interests. But more importantly, take a look at that last sentence again: "Among his victories was Blagojevich’s decision to let SEIU, and not [AFSCME], organize Illinois’ child-care workers."

Far Left magazine The American Prospect summarized the SEIU-AFSCME battle in 2005. In Blagojevich’s first race for governor in 2002, the SEIU provided a thousand volunteers in the weeks before the primary election, enough to push the Congressman over his nearest rival by just one percent. As governor, Blagojevich repaid the SEIU by issuing executive orders that effectively ensured that the SEIU (and not AFSCME) would "represent" the 5,000 home-care workers and 48,000 child-care workers in the state.

This potentially unconstitutional scheme to impose monopoly bargaining on home care providers has resulted in many hundreds of thousands of new forced union dues payers across America. It’s a huge new cash cow for union bosses.

The fact is, if union bosses spend millions of dollars to get a candidate elected, they expect something in return. Blagojevich was happy to oblige.

Sometimes, that means giving union bosses like Andy Stern and his ilk close access to governors like Blagojevich to let them pick political appointments. Sometimes, it means legislative power grabs like the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act (aka the Card Check Forced Unionism Bill). And, of course, union bosses use their political power precisely to gain even more revenue and political power.

And that’s the bigger picture in the Blagojevich scandal — Big Labor’s influence wouldn’t be possible without forced unionism.

10 Dec 2008

Top 10 Forced Unionism Power Grabs on Big Labor’s Agenda

Posted in Blog

In this week’s "Top 10 List" from Human Events, the staff of Human Events listed the "Top 10 Things On Big Labor’s Agenda." The list is telling, as it describes Big Labor’s outrageous plans to to grab more coercive power and erode employees’ rights in the workplace. Of course, the so-called "Employee Free Choice Act", more accurately called the "Card Check" Forced Unionism Bill tops the list:

1. Employee Free Choice Act
In addition to the notorious “card-check” provision that strips union members of their right to a secret ballot, this bill also provides for increased penalties for employers who commit allegedly unfair labor practices…

Besides card check forced unionism, Big Labor is even toying with a relaunch of efforts to "Repeal…Section 14(b) of the Taft-Hartley Act [which] would take from states the right to enact Right to Work laws." Big Labor has wanted for decades to repeal this critical provision, and the most serious attempt to do so was in 1960s.

Not only is Big Labor trying to ultimately overturn laws in Right to Work states, but they "also seek the forced unionization of police, firefighters, and EMTs by federal fiat — overturning the laws of more than two dozen states."

Other notable aspects of Human Events‘ "Top 10 List" includes Big Labor’s nefarious plans of using the Federal government to force more employees into full dues paying compulsory unionism (see: #6, 7), concealing corruption (see: #8), and making it harder for employees to exercise their rights against the abuses of compulsory unionism (see: #9, 10).

9 Dec 2008

SEIU Bosses Gave Gov. Blagojevich More Than $1.7 Million Already, Not Including Possible Payout for Senate Seat

Posted in Blog

Earlier today, we reported on the developing pay-for-play scandal involving humiliated Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich which allegedly involved offer the SEIU the power to name Barack Obama’s replacement as Senator in return for a cushy job with the SEIU’s Change to Win coalition or a new SEIU-funded lobby group.

One news source indicated the SEIU official mentioned in the indictment was none other than SEIU president Andrew Stern.  But NPR reports that the official involved was one step down from Stern — Tom Balanoff, the union’s Illinois chief

Our research today indicates that Andy Stern’s SEIU has been Blagojevich’s biggest financial backer for years. According go the Illinois Sunshine Database, the SEIU Illinois Council PAC was the governor’s top contributor in his re-election effort, giving $908,382 in the 2005-2006 cycle. That same cycle, PACs for the Laborers and Teamsters unions, also Change to Win partners, were also among Blagojevich’s top 15 contributors.

The relationship between Blagojevich and the SEIU’s political fundraising arms go back years. In his first gubernatorial election in 2002, the SEIU PEA International gave his campaign $821,294, making the PAC his second largest contributor that cycle (the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had contributed $900,000 to the then-Congressman).

All told, union PACs poured more than $8 million into Blagojevich’s two gubernatorial campaign coffers.

You get what you pay for. But do SEIU members know where their money is going?

9 Dec 2008

Dear SEIU President Andrew Stern: What’s the going rate for a U.S. Senator?

Posted in Blog

[For more on this scandal, see this post: SEIU Bosses Gave Gov. Blagojevich More Than $1.7 Million Already, Not Including Possible Payout for Senate Seat]

By now, many of you have already heard about the pay-for-play scandal enveloping Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Unsurprisingly, Blago’s corrupt antics are intimately connected to Big Labor. In return for a cushy appointment at the SEIU’s Change to Win coalition, he apparently offered to name SEIU’s hand-picked candidate to Barack Obama’s newly-vacant senate seat (from the federal complaint .pdf):

Defendants ROD BLAGOJEVICH and [his aide] JOHN HARRIS, together with others, attempted to use ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s authority to appoint a United States Senator for the purpose of obtaining personal benefits for ROD BLAGOJEVICH, including, among other things, appointment as Secretary of Health & Human Services in the President-elect’s administration, and alternatively, a lucrative job which they schemed to induce a union to provide to ROD BLAGOJEVICH in exchange for appointing as senator an individual whom ROD BLAGOJEVICH and JOHN HARRIS believed to be favored by union officials and their associates.

HARRIS said they could work out a three-way deal with SEIU and the President-elect where SEIU could help the President-elect with ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s appointment of Senate Candidate 1 to the vacant Senate seat, ROD BLAGOJEVICH would obtain a position as the National Director of the Change to Win campaign, and SEIU would get something favorable from the President-elect in the future.

The SEIU, of course, is denying any connection to the Blagojevich bribe, which is a bit hard to swallow given the circumstances. Here’s another damning excerpt from the charges (emphasis mine):

On November 12, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH spoke with SEIU Official, who was in Washington, D.C. Prior intercepted phone conversations indicate that approximately a week before this call, ROD BLAGOJEVICH met with SEIU Official to discuss the vacant Senate seat, and ROD BLAGOJEVICH understood that SEIU Official was an emissary to discuss Senate Candidate 1’s interest in the Senate seat. During the conversation with SEIU Official on November 12, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH informed SEIU Official that he had heard the President-elect wanted persons other than Senate Candidate 1 to be considered for the Senate seat.

SEIU Official stated that he would find out if Senate Candidate 1 wanted SEIU Official to keep pushing her for Senator with ROD BLAGOJEVICH. ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that “one thing I’d be interested in” is a 501(c)(4) organization. ROD BLAGOJEVICH explained the 501(c)(4)idea to SEIU Official and said that the 501(c)(4) could help “our new Senator [Senate Candidate 1].” SEIU Official agreed to “put that flag up and see where it goes.”

For those of you wondering, "Senate Candidate 1" is Valerie Jarrett, the SEIU’s once-favored choice for the Illinois senate vacancy. As the excerpted segment shows, the feds also have an anonymous SEIU official agreeing on tape to convey Blago’s proposed bribe to his superiors.

BREAKING NEWS: Notwithstanding SEIU denials, Politico reports a Democrat source has revealed the unnamed SEIU official is none other than President Andrew Stern himself.

UPDATE: NPR now reports that the SEIU official was actually Tom Balanoff, the union’s Illinois chief.

Blago’s abortive bargain was a pretty sweet deal. The Illinois governor would have picked up a plum SEIU job funded by forced union dues, while Big Labor would have gotten another bought-and-paid-for senator.

The workers funding Blago’s lavish new salary and the SEIU’s vast political apparatus may have felt left out of the deal, but that’s just the way Big Labor operates.

Just another example of the corruption that goes hand-in-hand with the injustice of forced unionism.

8 Dec 2008

This Holiday Season, Shop Online and Help Right to Work!

Posted in Blog

The holiday season is upon us, and if you are like me, you still have plenty of presents to buy for family and friends. There has never been a better time to take advantage of the National Right to Work Foundation’s relationship with GoodShop.com.

Through GoodShop, you can shop at more than 700 top online retailers and a percentage of your purchases will go to help the Foundation provide free legal aid to victims of compulsory unionism.

GoodShop: You Shop...We Give!

Participating online stores include Amazon, Apple, Best Buy, Gap, Macy’s, Old Navy, Target, Toys R Us, and many, many more.

It’s free and easy to use. Just go to Goodshop.com, select the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation as your charity, and click on the retailer of your choice.

You can also help the Foundation even more by replacing your search engine with GoodSearch.com. With each search, GoodSearch sends a portion of the advertising revenue to the Foundation.

And if you’re feeling particularly generous, click here to learn about all the ways you can support the Foundation.

4 Dec 2008

Coldwater Teacher Files Federal Suit Against Ohio Teacher Union Notorious for Religious Discrimination

Posted in News Releases

With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, a fourth grade teacher from Ohio has filed a federal suit against Ohio’s largest teacher union for religious discrimination:

Columbus, OH (December 4, 2008) – A fourth grade teacher from the Coldwater Exempted Village School District has filed a federal suit against the state’s largest teacher union for forcing her to pay compulsory union fees to fund the union whose activities violate her religious faith.

National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorneys, providing the teacher with free legal aid, filed the suit this week in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.

Kathy Hart, an active member of the Catholic Church, has been a teacher in the Ohio public school system since August 1996. Because the public school she works in is unionized, she works under a collective bargaining agreement which forces her to pay compulsory union fees to the National Education Association (NEA) union and its state and local affiliates – the Ohio Education Association (OEA) union and the Coldwater Teachers Organization (CTO) union. Due to her faith, Hart objects to the unions’ positions on abortion and special rights for homosexuals.

Hart had asked that the union divert her compulsory fees to a charity, thereby accommodating her religious objections to supporting financially unions she believes to be involved in immoral activities.

Read the rest of the Foundation’s press release here.

4 Dec 2008

Union Partisan: “When It Comes to Unions, We Should Be More Like China”

Posted in Blog

It’s fascinating to examine the mindset of union partisans fighting to enact the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act (a.k.a Card Check Forced Unionism Act), which would virtually eliminate the secret ballot in workplace elections.

Jon Tasini, a union consultant and former union boss, supports Card Check Forced Unionism which would allow union goons to collect "votes" in public by repeatedly harassing workers at the job and at home.

But Tasini thinks the Card Check Forced Unionism does not go far enough. He’d rather just have absolute government-imposed forced unionism, like China, where the authoritarian regime simply tells companies "you have to have unions" — and that’s, that.

Read Tasini’s entire post here.

Note that he doesn’t even attempt to couch his support of the bill under the premise that card card is a better barometer of majority support than an election (which, of course, is absurd). In fact, there’s no mention of majority support at all — or even whether or not ANY of the workers at a company want to unionize.