Freedom Foundation’s Holiday Swing – Day 3

Freedom Foundation’s Holiday Swing – Day 3

Freedom Foundation’s Holiday Swing – Day 3

Day 3 of the Freedom Foundation’s Santa’s helpers’ whirlwind East Coast tour began with a visit to the Capitol Complex in quaint Dover, Del.

Santa’s elves were well-received by the workers and locals alike.

All around the expansive campus, they were met with smiles, honks and waves. Not one person was unhappy to see them, and no one refused to take a brochure explaining how they can give themselves a Christmas bonus by leaving their union and stopping dues deductions. 

AFSCME 81 boasts it represents more than 6,000 public employees and, up until now, has been protected by the restrictive “resident-only” public records law that makes it nearly impossible for the Freedom Foundation to reach out to government workers in this state.

But after the employees returned from their lunch hour, no doubt many coworkers were left asking, “Did you see those elves on the outside?”

And now they have the information they need to protect their rights and say goodbye to their bloated union.

After a quick bite at Angelo’s Pizza, a popular pizzeria right across from the Capitol Campus, the Freedom Foundation’s elves trekked up to Trenton, N.J., to see what they could before the end of the work day.

New Jersey is a recent state to be featured on Opt Out Today and, since then, the opt-outs have been pouring in.

The Freedom Foundation unintentionally parked right outside the New Jersey chapter of the AFL-CIO — conveniently situated right across from the state government complex — but didn’t knock on the door.

As the sun began to set, even in Trenton, Santa’s helpers were met with smiles and honks from those who drove or walked by. 

Vice President of Communication and Federal Affairs
avarner@freedomfoundation.com
Ashley Varner brings a variety of public affairs experience and a tough skin to the Freedom Foundation team. Prior to joining the Freedom Foundation, Ashley spent many exciting, turbulent and wonderful years as a media spokesperson and state government liaison at the National Rifle Association. Following her tenure at the NRA, Ashley joined the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), where she worked with state and local lawmakers across the country on a diverse set of policy and communications issues. A grassroots activist from a young age, Ashley joined her first of many political campaigns before graduating high school and organized protests across the street from her own professors at the University of Missouri. When not rabble-rousing against Big Government, Ashley enjoys cooking, mafia movies, and has seen most of the 1970s and 80s classic rock bands still on tour. She loves the Chiefs, hopes someday she can love her Mizzou Tigers again, and she was a Kansas City Royals fan and Patriot Act opponent before either was cool.