Washington, DC (August 31, 2012) – Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and National Right to Work Committee, released the following statement regarding this year’s Labor Day holiday.

“This Labor Day, many workers will enjoy a well-deserved long weekend. But as we celebrate with friends and family, union officials are mounting a billion dollar campaign to reelect President Barack Obama and elect more pro-forced unionism allies in Congress.

“Throughout the United States, tens of millions of American workers are already compelled to pay dues or fees to union officials as a condition of getting or keeping a job. And millions more workers are required by law to accept a union’s so-called ‘representation,’ even if they would rather negotiate with their employer themselves on their own merits.

“Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that Big Labor spends about four times on politics and lobbying than what was previously thought. This forced-dues funded billion dollar machine enables union officials to wield immense political clout, even though voluntary union membership continues to steadily decline.

“Today, union officials are going all out to obtain even more special privileges to further expand their forced-dues-paying ranks. Meanwhile, many workers feel they have little choice but to pay for Big Labor’s election campaigning, and many workers are unaware of their right to object.

“That’s why the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is providing free legal aid to thousands of employees nationwide seeking to get their money back. In fact, Foundation attorneys recently won a precedent-setting victory at the U.S. Supreme Court establishing for the first time that union officials must obtain affirmative consent from workers before using workers’ forced union fees for union politicking.

“This victory is an important step in the right direction and underscores the importance of holding politicians accountable on the issue of forced unionism in the coming national elections. The National Right to Work Committee is mobilizing its 2.6 million members to call on candidates to support greater workplace freedoms, including supporting the National Right to Work Act.”

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.