National Right to Work Committee®
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Help Us Fight Forced Unionism!
We at the National Right to Work Committee are fighting at many levels to protect America's working men and women's right to decide for themselves whether or not a union deserves their financial support.
Whether it be in the state and federal legislatures, the courts, or hearing rooms at the FEC or the NLRB, we fight to ensure that workers join unions because they want to – not out of fear or federal mandate.
Please become an active member by pledging a monthly gift, or by helping us financially on one of the specific legislative efforts highlighted above.
Statement Regarding Iowa Ad Campaign
By Kirsten Andersen, Director of Communication
FOR RELEASE: October 22, 2002
Thank you for coming today. I have a brief statement, after which I’ll unveil the National Right to Work Committee®'s new TV ad for Iowa, and then I’ll take your questions.
This new 60-second ad reveals a distinct contrast on the Right to Work issue between the two contenders in Iowa's U.S. Senate race this fall, Incumbent Tom Harkin and Congressman Greg Ganske.
Congressman Ganske, who has three times cosponsored Right to Work legislation in the House, is pledging as a Senator to continue his support for repeal of federal labor-law provisions that authorize the firing of employees for refusal to join and pay dues to a union.
The national Right to Work measure that Congressman Ganske has consistently supported would repeal federal labor-law provisions under which eight million employees nationwide may currently be fired for refusal to pay union tribute.
Because of the supremacy of federal law, even in Iowa and the 21 other states that have enacted Right to Work laws, hundreds of thousands of employees are forced to support unions financially as a condition of employment.
You can read more about this in the fact sheet, "Federally-Imposed Forced Union Dues in Right to Work States," that I've included with your press packages.
The National Right to Work Act would end this congressionally-authorized forced unionism.
Unfortunately, Senator Tom Harkin voted to kill the National Right to Work Act when it came up for debate in 1996.
Senator Harkin also cosponsored and pushed for Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy’s bill to place police and firefighters nationwide under union-monopoly control.
It’s really no surprise that Senator Harkin has been one of the Senate’s biggest proponents of forced-dues legislation —- after all, he’s raked in more than $300,000 in Organized Labor PAC contributions during this election alone, in addition to the millions he has collected over the course of his career.
What’s more, he has also gratefully accepted "in-kind" support from union bosses in the form of phone banks, get-out-the-vote drives, and forced-dues-paid-for campaign "volunteers."
Senator Harkin should stop worrying about the union-boss elite who finance his campaigns and start worrying about the nearly eight out of ten Iowans who oppose forced unionism.
Poll after poll shows that Americans support Right to Work by a nearly four-to-one margin. And support is typically even more overwhelming in Right to Work states like Iowa.
The television ad I’m about to show you will run in Iowa’s major media markets starting next week.
This TV-ad buy is part of the $3.1 million that the National Right to Work Committee® is spending on targeted media and direct-mail lobbying during this fall's U.S. Senate and House campaigns.
In Iowa and in other states, the purpose of this lobbying effort is to convince candidates to oppose federal policies that authorize Big Labor to force employees to pay money to union officials, or be fired.
The record shows that the vast majority of Iowans oppose such policies. I urge Tom Harkin to apologize for his past support for forced unionism, and to join Greg Ganske in announcing his support for the National Right to Work Act.
Thank you again for coming. I’ll play the ad for you now, and then take your questions.