Springfield, Va. (April 29, 2002) – On Wednesday, May 1, Iowa celebrates its 55th year of prosperity as a Right to Work state. Since 1947, Iowa’s workers have enjoyed the benefits of higher wages, better jobs, and protection from the abusive system of compulsory unionism that still plagues 28 states.

To mark this occasion, spokesmen from the National Right to Work Foundation are available to discuss the ongoing struggle to protect workers from union abuses and corruption, and to explain how Iowa has benefited from its Right to Work law, which bans the practice of forcing workers to join or support a union as a condition of employment.

“Championing the Right to Work shows that Iowa is committed to protecting individual liberty and continued economic growth,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “This is why the Right to Work law is so popular throughout the state.”

Recently, Iowa’s Right to Work law has been under attack from the Polk County Board of Supervisors, who intend to impose a discriminatory union-only Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for the building of the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. The Foundation is supporting efforts to halt the use of a PLA and allow Iowa’s most efficient workers and contractors to work on the project.

“The attempt of union officials to ram this union-only PLA down the throats of Iowa taxpayers shows that Big Labor is committed to destroying the precious Right to Work principle, which gives employees the freedom to choose whether or not to affiliate with a union,” stated Gleason. “This proposal discriminates against the vast majority of Iowa’s workers and illustrates the kind of abuses that flow from unchecked union coercive power.”

To schedule an interview with Stefan Gleason, please contact Dan Cronin at 703-770-3317.

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.