WS Journal calls out Oregon for new bad union law

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board has called out Oregon for a new law that attempts to silence critics. 

Here is a sample:
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“The Workers Fraud Protection Act, which takes effect Jan. 1, makes it “unlawful to falsely impersonate a union representative” and imposes punitive fines. The law cites a definition of fraud that includes merely giving a “false impression” of union matters.The bill was written specifically to give unions a cudgel against the Freedom Foundation. The nonprofit sends mailers informing workers of their right to decline union representation. Unions say the Freedom Foundation misleads workers by using union colors and logos to make the mail seem as if it is coming from the union itself.But a look at the sample mailings show the Freedom Foundation or its Opt Out Today slogan is clearly visible on the mailings. It’s often part of the return address on the letter. The mailings alert workers that under their “Janus rights” they can save $700 a year in “maximum annual dues deduction savings.”The unions are upset because the mailings provide a ready-made response letter. “I authorize the Freedom Foundation to transmit this notice to the OSEA [Oregon Schools Education Association] and/or my employer on my behalf,” one mailing says. All the worker has to do is fill out name, address, employer, date, email, phone and signature.The mailing is a shrewd way to make it easy for workers to exercise their right under the Supreme Court’s landmark 2018 Janus v. Afscme ruling. Public unions with the help of Democrats in many states make it harder for workers to learn about that right with such limits as a narrow period for opting out each year.The Oregon law escalates this campaign by trying to silence the Freedom Foundation. Under the bill, a union representative alleging a violation can bring a civil action to “obtain damages.” The bill says a plaintiff “shall receive statutory damages in an amount of $6,250 per incident in any action in which the plaintiff establishes that the defendant falsely impersonated a union representative.” 

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