ACTIONTIMELINE ACTION TIMELINE Highlighting a few of the Freedom Foundation’s signature accomplishments over the past half year
DEC. 4 The Freedom Foundation appeals to the Washington State Supreme Court a lawsuit it filed against the state Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) for demonstrating political bias in favor of a union front group that failed to register as a political action committee. DEC. 8 The Freedom Foundation files suits in close to a dozen cases in Washington, Oregon and California in which a union operative has falsified the signature of a disgruntled public employee on a membership form to prevent them from exercising their Constitutional right to decline union participation. On Dec. 8, the organization appeals a pair of lawsuits from Oregon — Cash Schiewe v. SEIU 503 and Wright v. SEIU 503 — marking the second and third cases it has brought to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. DEC. 9 Freedom Foundation National Director Aaron Withe has an op-ed published by the Daily Wire noting President-Elect Joe Biden’s long history of subservience to labor unions, addressing areas where he will undoubtedly try to roll back important labor reforms and warning readers to remain vigilant. DEC. 17 Freedom Foundation Labor Policy Director Maxford Nelsen appears on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show to report that, for the second time in six months, the organization has PAGE 38
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released a report intimating that the Washington State Department of Health is very likely inflating the number of state residents who have died of COVID. DEC. 22 The Epoch Times publishes an article highlighting Freedom Foundation research demonstrating that Washington State Health Department officials were inflating the number of COVID-19 deaths in the state by classifying anyone who had ever contracted the virus and eventually died — regardless of the cause — as a COVID victim. JAN. 13 Both RedState.com and The Daily Wire publish articles authored by Freedom Foundation National Director Aaron Withe warning that Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, nominated by President-elect Joe Biden to serve as Secretary of Labor, is little more than a union stooge — thus fulfilling Biden’s dubious campaign pledge to make his the most union-friendly administration in history. FEB. 11 The Freedom Foundation appeals Belgau v. Inslee to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case involves several Washington state employees whose union continues to deduct dues from their paychecks long after they requested to opt out. The union maintains the workers signed a valid membership card and the dues deductions can only be stopped if the opt-out request is made during a two-week window every year.
BY THE NUMBERS Nationally: In the month of June alone, the Freedom Foundation generated more than 1.8 million e-mails and 250,000 mailers. In New Mexico, the first time the organization reached out to members of a small AFSCME local, more than 200 members opted out. In total, one out of every four employees who interacted with the e-mail ceased their dues deduction. New Mexico is one of the first lists targeted as part of the Freedom Foundation’s national outreach plan. Oregon: Federal reports show SEIU 503 lost another 2,100 dues-paying members from its overall ranks in 2020 – the fourth year in a row the union’s membership has declined, and a 26 percent overall decline since Janus. Meanwhile, the most recent payroll data from the state of Oregon show that, as of September 2020, 34 percent of SEIU 503 represented state employees are no longer paying dues. Pennsylvania:Ohio: As Pennsylvania continues to grow its operations, the Freedom Foundation saw its biggest opt-out numbers come from a holiday theme piece that ran over Christmas and into the new year. More than 200 union members opted out after that single piece of material hit their mailboxes. Ohio: Payroll data obtained from the state of Ohio show that, since the Freedom Foundation’s move into the state, the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association has lost nearly 1,500 dues-paying members.
