“Except perhaps in the rarest of circumstances, no person in this country may be compelled to subsidize speech by a third party that he or she does not wish to support.”
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito wrote those words in the landmark 2014 decision, Harris v. Quinn. In that decision, the Court concluded that homecare providers could not be forced to join and pay for union representation. There are about fifty thousand such providers in Washington covered by Harris, yet unions continue to illegally take their money, every month.
Every American understands the intuitive justice in prohibiting forced speech.
For example, what if a Jewish American was forced to contribute to the political campaigns of an avowedly anti-Semitic politician? Even if the citizen arguably benefited from the politician’s public service—say, in the form of improved public projects and services—no one would argue that the citizen must financially support the politician. Not in America. Not under our Constitution.
For years, government unions and the state have forced this very outrage on thousands of care providers and state employees.
Perhaps no media event in recent memory has forced Americans to consider their cultural choices more than the viral release of at least nine videos depicting Planned Parenthood and other organizations callously discussing the practice of harvesting baby body parts for money. Setting aside the underlying moral and legal issues surrounding abortion and “fetal tissue harvesting,” these videos have been heartbreaking and infuriating to those only now discovering they unwittingly paid for this ghoulish business.
As a civil rights attorney, I represent many home healthcare and childcare providers who are forcibly represented by two of the state’s most politically active unions — SEIU 775 and SEIU 925. In fact, both unions are currently under investigation by the State Public Disclosure Commission for multiple alleged violations of campaign finance law.
SEIU contributes generously to avowedly pro-abortion politicians throughout Washington and the country, but it also donates directly to Planned Parenthood and several other pro-abortion providers and supporters. In fact, SEIU proudly sits alongside Planned Parenthood on the boards of several progressive organizations.
Organizations—even unions—have the Constitutional right to speak through social and political donations. But that right evaporates when the unions use unwilling workers’ coerced fees to fund the union bosses’ ideological agendas.
No American can be forced to subsidize abortion. That’s why Andrea called me.
Andrea works at a nonprofit healthcare organization, and her workplace was unionized by SEIU 775 several years ago. When Andrea began her job, she understood union membership to be a requirement of the job, and thus signed a membership card and paid regular monthly dues. But the striking uneasiness of this forced arrangement never dissipated.
This caused her to investigate who we were, and what she found justified her most profound fears—about SEIU.
She discovered that the union regularly contributed large sums to Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion organizations, and that her dues were financing those contributions.
Andrea was outraged and together with her husband quickly reached a fateful decision: she would have to cease all payments to the union, or quit her job.
Luckily, Freedom Foundation was there to help. We informed Andrea about her right to religious nondiscrimination under the federal Civil Rights Act and how she could formally object to union membership and fees because of her sincere beliefs. Andrea wrote the union, explained her objection, and requested a religious accommodation that would allow her to disassociate from the union and instead contribute to a charity of her choice.
The union initially pushed back, and tried to force Andrea to complete an invasive questionnaire—even asking for her pastor’s contact information so that union officials could “validate” her belief claims. Problem is, that is not what the Civil Rights Act requires of her.
When the Foundation responded directly to SEIU 775 to demand that it immediately grant or deny her request, the union quickly acquiesced and granted Andrea’s accommodation.
Andrea is now a proud nonmember of SEIU and no longer has her paycheck plundered to bankroll abortions.
No worker should feel helplessly trapped in a union that violates their First Amendment rights and discriminates against them. The Civil Rights Act and the Constitution exist to protect individuals from powerful entities exactly like SEIU 775, which collects over $22 million in annual dues.
Today, thousands of forcibly unionized Washingtonians have the opportunity to reclaim their freedom. SEIU bosses cannot steal their money and their free speech to fund their own ideological agendas
And as long as Freedom Foundation exists, it will aid individuals courageous enough to stand up for their rights.
For more information, visit http://optouttoday.com/.
