*This letter to the editor originally appeared in the Detroit News.*

Dear Editor,

In a recent self-congratulatory piece, Teamsters chief James Hoffa proclaimed “Unions practice democracy,” yet he and other union officials strongly oppose workers exercising individual free choice (“Spreading democracy empowers unions,” June 9).

Not only do Hoffa and the Teamsters hierarchy detest right-to-work laws, which make union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary, but they also impose union affiliation on workers in states where right-to-work protections exist.

This week in Las Vegas, Teamsters officials will hold a training rally called “Organizing to Dominate Industries.” The goal is to train union organizers in more “in your face” organizing tactics that further undermine employee free choice.

Chief among these are “card check” drives, under which union officials strong-arm employers into handing over employees’ personal information, and workers are subjected to menacing home visits until they sign cards that count as “votes” in support of unionization. A call to arms in a flier touting the training event urges: “The time has come to deploy our army to achieve Teamster dominance.”

With such militancy, it’s no wonder that droves of workers have mounted legal challenges to these abusive organizing drives with help from the National Right to Work Foundation, as union organizers have targeted many workers with bribery, stalking, and threats during them.

Rather than give us his happy talk about union democracy, Hoffa could start by ensuring that workers are given a free choice when deciding whether to join. Employees might actually be interested if union officials instead focused their energies on improving the product they’re selling.

Justin Hakes

Director of Legal Information
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation
Springfield, Va.

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.