Freedom Foundation Will Again Observe Right-To-Work Day Instead Of Labor Day

Press
September 1, 2015

Judging by all of the buzz the Freedom Foundation generated by choosing to work on Labor Day last year, it appears the decision was a hit with the media and a source of considerable outrage to the labor leaders and union apologists whose abuses it was intended to spotlight.

That’s why the organization will be doing the same thing this year. And “work-ins” could crop up in other states, as well.

Freedom Foundation staff members have agreed for a second straight year to forego the usual Monday, Sept. 7, Labor Day holiday and instead take a paid day off on Friday, Sept. 4, which the organization has dubbed “Right-to-Work Day.”

“As its name denotes, the Freedom Foundation is first and foremost about freedom,” explained Tom McCabe, the organization’s CEO. “Consequently, we believe no one should be forced to join a private organization as a condition of employment or have their paychecks garnished to support political candidates and causes they disagree with.

“We support the concept of voluntary collective bargaining to resolve legitimate workplace issues,” he said. “But organized labor in recent years has become nothing but an ATM from which the radical Left withdraws the savings of forcibly unionized workers to advance an agenda that often has absolutely nothing to do with their jobs and conflicts with their core values.”

Rather than paying tribute to the unions and their well-documented bullying tactics, McCabe said, Labor Day should be a celebration of the workers and the work they do.

“And I can think of nothing that would honor the nation’s workers more than restoring their freedom of choice,” he said. “We stand for the right of every American to decide for himself or herself how to exercise their constitutionally protected freedoms of speech and association. That’s why we’re celebrating the right-to-work movement rather than principles of force and intimidation.”

Last year’s Freedom Foundation “work-in” was featured on at least two local TV newscasts in addition to Fox News and a national online newscast. It was also written up on dozens of newspapers, websites and blogs all over the country.

“Some the coverage was fair and accurate,” McCabe said, “but most of the commentators either didn’t understand our decision or deliberately mischaracterized it.

“First,” he said, “no one was forced to do this. The staff came up with the idea and voted unanimously to support it. And secondly, no one is surrendering their day off. We’re simply choosing to spend it three days earlier than most people do as a way to honor a much more worthy ideal – the right to work.”

And the idea could be catching on.

The Freedom Foundation shared its experiences with the State Policy Network – a national alliance of conservative organizations and think tanks all over the country – which encouraged members to adopt a similar strategy in their states.

“This is a terrific idea,” responded Forest Thigpen of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. “I’m going to put in our legislative plan a bill to declare a state Right-to-Work Day holiday on the same day as the federal Labor Day. That won’t cost taxpayers any additional money for another holiday, since they already are off that day in September.”

Online links to a sampling of the coverage generated by the Freedom Foundation last year is pasted below: