Olympia, June 30, 2015 — Statement from Freedom Foundation CEO Tom McCabe on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case of Friedrichs v. California Teachers’ Association during the session beginning this October:

“This case has the potential to be a game-changer — not only here in Washington but all over the country. For too long, government-employee unions have been granted a license to corrupt the political process and impose an agenda that serves their own interests at the expense of the taxpaying public. And the lynchpin of that arrangement has been laws that require public employees to pay dues and fund the political activities of those unions as a condition of employment.”

“As we’ve seen in states that have already passed right-to-work legislation, workers in huge numbers opt out of the unions when membership is no longer mandatory. That isn’t because of anything the Freedom Foundation or any other right-to-work supporter has done. It’s because the unions themselves have failed to provide a service for which the workers would be willing to pay. The unions’ — which normally rail about the evils of corporate monopoly — have been handed a labor monopoly and, like all monopolies, no longer feel compelled to serve the interests of their consumers.”

“An institution that can’t withstand the rigors of competition shouldn’t be arbitrarily propped up through taxpayer subsidies. Likewise, a labor union that can’t survive on its own by persuading free people to willingly join it shouldn’t be empowered to compel membership by force.”

“We’re overjoyed to hear that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear Friedrichs, and we anticipate a favorable ruling. At that point, the unions will either have to start actually serving their would-be members or the workers will exercise their God-given, constitutionally protected rights of speech and association by deciding not to join an organization that doesn’t serve their needs and funds an agenda with which they do not agree.”