The following is a statement from Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, regarding today’s Washington Superior Court ruling in Anfinson v. FedEx Ground. The court ruled the plaintiffs are independent contractors and are not therefore "employees."

"This case is nothing more than a Trojan Horse — a union organizing tactic brought by lawyers allied with UPS and organized labor. The real goal of this litigation is to force FedEx Ground independent contractors out of business and instead turn them into ’employees’ for purposes of forced unionization.

"Union bosses are desperately grabbing for more forced union dues — and meanwhile UPS is buckling under pressure from its non-union competition.

"But they know that federal forced unionism laws do not give union bosses the ability to shove independent contractors into union ranks, so this case was simply brought to impose a change in the drivers’ status.

"We’re pleased that the court ruling will have the effect of protecting drivers who may wish to refrain from union affiliation from being compelled by federal labor laws to join or support a union."

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, is assisting thousands of employees in close to 200 cases nationwide.