Action Timeline

ACTION TIMELINE 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 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. 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.

FEB. 11

The Washington Times publishes a story about the Freedom Foundation’s appeal of Belgau v. Inslee on its front page. FEB. 16

The enforcement arm of California’s Fair Political Practices Commission announces it plans to investigate a complaint filed in January by the Freedom Foundation, alleging the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) spent more than five years trying to camouflage millions of dollars’ worth of illegal political spending. FEB. 18

The Freedom Foundation appeals its fourth case to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals alleging an Oregon public employee’s signature was forged on her union membership card, allowing it to continue deducting dues from her paycheck. MARCH 1

The Freedom Foundation submits an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit filed by Americans for Prosperity and the Thomas Moore Law Center challenging efforts by the California state attorney general to force all charitable organizations operating in the state to turn over the names and addresses of their top financial contributors.

MARCH 12

An op-ed authored by Freedom Foundation Labor Policy Director Maxford Nelsen is published by the Wall Street Journal. Headlined, “Unions and Democrats attack the

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right to work,” the piece spotlights the so-called PRO Act, passed earlier in the week by the U.S. House of Representatives, as little more than a payback to the unions that pumped millions into Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. MARCH 16

The Freedom Foundation files suit on behalf of Glenn Laird, a longtime California teacher who broke ranks with his union when it included defunding law enforcement among its demands in return for returning to the classroom during the COVID outbreak. MARCH 18

The Freedom Foundation appeals Boardman v. Inslee to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case involves Initiative 1501, a union-financed ballot measure passed in 2016 by Washington state voters, that purported to toughen the state’s laws against identity thieves who prey on seniors and vulnerable individuals. In fact, the initiative’s real purpose was to exempt the contact information for union-represented homecare providers from the public disclosure laws that apply to every other government employee, preventing fellow caregivers and organizations like the Freedom Foundation from informing them of their rights to leave the union without penalty. APRIL 15

The Freedom Foundation files a “friend of the court” brief on behalf of itself and client Joseph Johnson in Hoekman v. Education Minnesota, an important case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. In its brief, the Freedom Foundation argues that a deduction process that is entirely controlled by unions, which have a direct interest in seeing the money continue to flow no matter what, is inherently unconstitutional. APRIL 15

For the third time, the Freedom Foundation obtains a successful outcome for a Medicaid-compensated homecare provider whose signature was forged on a membership agreement so her union could continue deducting dues from her modest pay against her wishes. Maria Gatdula, a homebased caregiver in Washington, first attempted to opt out of SEIU 775 in 2019. The union, however, refused to honor her request, claiming she had signed an electronic membership agreement in October 2019 that required her to pay dues — and union-directed political contributions — until 2020. When it was determined the document had been forged, SEIU 775 grudgingly agreed to refund dues it had deducted illegally.