Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and the National Right to Work Committee, issued the following statement on the occasion of Labor Day 2024:
On Labor Day, we celebrate the dedication and ingenuity of America’s working people. Their hard work is truly what keeps this nation prosperous and thriving, but union officials invariably attempt to hijack Labor Day to promote an agenda that undermines the rights and freedoms of our nation’s working men and women.
That’s especially true during this election year, when union officials are claiming that America’s workers are headed for disaster unless their handpicked candidates ascend to power and enact their radical policy agenda. But it’s plain to see that union bosses’ agenda prioritizes divisive politics and coercing workers far above what workers actually want – more freedom.
Big Labor is still pushing as its number-one legislative priority the radical “PRO-Act,” which will eliminate all state Right to Work protections and force millions more workers to pay union dues just to keep their jobs. Among the PRO-Act’s backers is Kamala Harris, who wants nationwide forced-dues despite admitting in a brief to the Supreme Court that union bosses use their power to undermine the economic interests of many workers.
This may be a winning strategy for collecting union boss-directed PAC contributions and endorsements, but stripping workers of the right to choose freely whether union membership and financial support is right for them is without a doubt anti-worker. This is especially true considering the vast majority of workers are not unionized and polls show most have “no interest at all” in becoming a union member.
Elected officials of all political stripes are right to want the votes of hardworking Americans, but the way to win those votes is not granting special interest union bosses the legal power to threaten workers to pay up or be fired. The real pro-worker position is Right to Work, which trusts workers with the choice, so each can join and pay dues to a union if they want but none can be required to join or pay against their will.
This Labor Day, let’s celebrate American employees by empowering each and every one with the freedom that Right to Work provides.
Mark’s statement comes as a newly released nationwide poll of registered voters finds overwhelming support for Right to Work (82%), including among voters of all party affiliations. The Rasmussen Media Group poll also found that 79 percent of union members back Right to Work and oppose forced union membership and dues. Click here to see the results.
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.
