Washington, D.C. (February 27, 2002) – In response to the AFL-CIO’s decision at its New Orleans meeting this week to hit America’s working families with another mandatory tax to pay for electioneering, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation announced it intends to spend $1,000,000 to assist workers who object to paying for union political activities in 2002.

“According to polls, most rank-and-file workers object to Big Labor’s electioneering with their forced union dues,” said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “We intend to spend at least $1,000,000 to do everything possible through the courts and public information efforts to help workers reclaim their hard-earned money.”

Under the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Communications Workers v. Beck, a case won by National Right to Work Foundation attorneys in 1988, employees cannot be compelled to formally join a union or pay dues spent for politics or other activities unrelated to collective bargaining. Because of union officials’ routine and systematic non-compliance with the law, a vast majority of unionized employees still do not know they have these rights, polls show. In the past, workers who have sought to exercise these rights have been the victims of harassment and even violence.

“Backed by the purely voluntary financial support of tens of thousands of Americans, the National Right to Work Foundation does not have Big Labor’s resources. But we cannot allow union operatives to force America’s working people to serve as political ATM machines,” stated Gleason.

Though significant, the AFL-CIO’s political program is only the tip of the iceberg. The federation’s member unions collect a total of more than $10 billion in forced union dues annually, much of which is spent on politics.

In 2000, experts estimate that union political operatives spent $800 million, mostly taken from forced union dues, to support their handpicked candidates for public office. This money was used to support candidates and policies with which large numbers of union members disagree. For example, in 2000 more than 90 percent of Big Labor’s support went to Democrats, even though 40 percent of union households voted for George W. Bush. More recently union officials have ignored the majority of their members who support tax cuts and Social Security reform.

To schedule an interview with a Foundation spokesman 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 more than 250 cases nationwide per year.