Washington, DC (September 4, 2009) – 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 Americans will enjoy a well-deserved long weekend. But as we celebrate the free-enterprise system and the value of hard work, union officials are mounting an unprecedented effort to grab more coercive power. At its core, their basic goal is simple: expand the number of workers forced to pay union dues and accept mandatory union representation just to keep their jobs.

“Unfortunately, the union hierarchy’s ambitions go well beyond the scope of previous years. Now that union operatives have helped install a President who in his own words says ‘he owes these unions,’ Big Labor is focused on a series of unprecedented power grabs.

"Their first priority is coercive ‘card check’ legislation, which would shove millions of unwilling workers into unions, disenfranchising workers from the process, and forcing struggling job-providers to knuckle-under to government-imposed contracts. Other legislative plans include the newly-revived Police and Firefighter Monopoly Bargaining Bill, which threatens America’s first responders with federally-mandated unionization. The National Right to Work Committee is mobilizing its 2.2 million members to combat these and other bills designed to force even more unwilling workers into unions.

“Throughout the United States, more than 12 million American workers are already compelled to pay union dues as a condition of keeping their jobs. And millions more are required by law to accept a union’s so-called ‘representation,’ even if they never asked or voted for it.

“Meanwhile, many workers feel they have no choice but to pay for organized labor’s extensive political activities, while others are still 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.

“This Labor Day, we commend all workers brave enough to stand up to union intimidation, harassment, and even violence as they defend their cherished freedoms. While we look forward to the day when no American is forced to pay tribute to an unwanted union, we must steel ourselves for the legislative and judicial battles ahead to defend employee freedom.”

To download Mark Mix’s statement as an MP3: Click here.

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.