National Right to Work Committee®
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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 Louisiana Ad Campaign
By Dennis Fusaro, Director of Communications
FOR RELEASE: December 2, 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 Louisiana, 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 Louisiana’s U.S. Senate run-off this fall, Incumbent Mary Landrieu and Suzanne Haik Terrell.
Suzanne Terrell is pledging her 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 Suzanne Terrell is supporting 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 Louisiana 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 Mary Landrieu has refused to support this landmark bill since her arrival on Capitol Hill.
Instead, Senator Landrieu voted for legislation to place police and firefighters nationwide under union-monopoly control by federal mandate.
And over the summer, Senator Landrieu voted with Tom Daschle to obstruct passage of President Bush’s Homeland Security Bill unless union officials were handed control over National Security Employees.
It’s really no surprise that Senator Landrieu has been one of the Senate’s biggest proponents of forced-dues legislation —- after all, she raked in more than $250,000 in Organized Labor PAC contributions before the November 5th election, and has received even more during the run-off.
What’s more, she 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 Landrieu should stop worrying about the union-boss elite who finance her campaigns and start worrying about the nearly eight out of ten Lousianians 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 Louisiana.
The television ad I’m about to show you will run in Louisiana’s media markets throughout the week.
In Louisiana, and in other states where we have run these ads, the purpose of this lobbying effort has been 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 Louisianans oppose such policies. I urge Senator Landrieu to renounce her past support for forced unionism, and to join Suzanne Terrell in announcing her support for a National Right to Work act.
Thank you again for coming. I’ll play the ad for you now, and then take your questions.