National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a charitable organization that provides free legal assistance to employees who claim that their civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism.[1][2] The Foundation was founded in 1968 and has represented 20,000 employees in over 2,200 cases, including 15 trips to the U.S. Supreme Court.[3]
Funding
The National Right to Work Foundation is a public foundation that operates under the tax-exempt status of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code meaning it is eligible for tax-deductible donations. The Foundation says its supporters are "union members, former union members, independent employees, business owners, and others" and that "individuals, corporations, companies, associations and foundations" are eligible to donate, but that the group receives no government support.[4] It says it has received donations from "more than 350,000 Americans."[3]
The identities of donors are not disclosed, but some of its funding has been traced to conservative foundations.[5]
Administration
- Mark Mix, President
- Raymond LaJeunesse, Jr., Vice President and Legal Director
Right-to-work principle
Right-to-work laws are statutes enforced in twenty-four U.S. States, allowed under provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act, which prohibit trade unions and employers from making membership or payment of dues or "fees" a condition of employment in a collective bargaining agreement, either before or after hire.[6]
The National Right to Work Foundation operates under the guiding principle that no person should be forced to pay dues to a union to get or keep a job.
Unions believe that the issue of mandatory dues should be decided in the collective bargaining process.
U.S. Supreme Court cases
The Foundation has represented employees in the following cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States:
- 1977 - Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, 431 U.S. 209[1][7]
- 1984 - Ellis v. Railway Clerks, 466 U.S. 435[1][8]
- 1985 - Pattern Makers v. NLRB, 473 U.S. 95[1][9]
- 1986 - Teachers v. Hudson, 475 U.S. 292[1][10]
- 1988 - Communications Workers of America v. Beck, 487 U.S. 735[1][11]
- 1991 - Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Association, 500 U.S. 507[1]
- 1998 - Air Line Pilots v. Miller, 523 U.S. 866[1][12]
- 1998 - Marquez v. Screen Actors, 525 U.S. 33[1]
- 2007 - Davenport v. Washington Education Association, 551 U.S. 177[13]
- 2008 - Locke v. Karass, 07-610 (2008)[14]
- 2012 - Knox v. SEIU Local 1000[15]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Leef, George C. (2005). Free Choice for Workers: A History of the Right to Work Movement. Jameson Books. pp. 147–150, 272–274. ISBN 0-915463-97-0.
- ^ [1] from the Memphis Daily News website
- ^ a b "A Brief History of the Foundation" from the foundation's website
- ^ "Foundation Frequently-Asked Questions" from the foundation's website
- ^ "Grants to National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation" from MediaTransparency
- ^ [2] About.com:Phoenix "Right to Work"
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ [7]
- ^ [8]
- ^ [9] from the Washington Post Supreme Court Docket website powered by FindLaw
- ^ [10]
- ^ [11]