Springfield, Va. (December 1, 2004) — The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation announced today that it has hired James J. Plunkett, a member of the Illinois State Bar and graduate of the Boston College School of Law.

“James Plunkett brings to National Right to Work a real commitment to helping employees fight back against the abuses of compulsory unionism,” said Ray LaJeunesse, Vice President and Legal Director of the National Right to Work Foundation.

As the newest of the Foundation’s 11 staff attorneys, Plunkett will help build on the Foundation’s successful litigation record on behalf of union-abused workers. In particular, Plunkett will assist the Foundation’s cutting-edge efforts to curb workers’ rights abuses under coercive “card-check” or “top-down” union organizing schemes. In the past year, Foundation attorneys have persuaded the National Labor Relations Board to re-evaluate the legality of these increasingly abusive union organizing tactics which deny employees basic protections in choosing whether to unionize.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Plunkett served at the U.S. Department of Interior Office of the Solicitor in Newton, Massachusetts. Between 1999-2001, Plunkett was Coordinating Editor for Lexis Law Publishing in Charlottesville, Virginia. Plunkett also served as Vice President of the Federalist Society Boston College Chapter.

Plunkett holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from James Madison University, where he graduated magna cum laude.

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.