PAGE 6 | September 21, 2018 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Guest Opinion
Who’s on our side?
By Peter Starzynski NW Accountability Project director
By Tom Chamberlain Oregon AFL-CIO President
Freedom Foundation’s SPAM assault
Election crunch time
The anti-worker Freedom Foundation (aka Opt
Out Today) is up to its old tricks. The group has
been blasting out thousands of unsolicited
emails to public workers, harassing them about
their union membership. These are teachers,
nurses and social workers — your friends, fam-
ily and neighbors (or maybe you) — being
bombarded by a torrent of SPAM. Freedom
Foundation is not only interrupting the work-
day of public workers across Washington and
Oregon, but also wasting taxpayers’ money,
which pays for the email service the group is
abusing.
This is just the latest in a long line of decep-
tive and unethical tactics by the extremist, anti-
worker front group.
Union members have reported incidents of
harassment. We’ve heard of the Freedom Foun-
dation attempting to mimic union representa-
tives.
Obviously, public employees receiving
SPAM from the Freedom Foundation are not
happy about it. They’ve sent complaints in
droves to their state attorneys general and the
Federal Trade Commission. They’ve also
flagged the harassment to Freedom Founda-
tion’s email service provider, Vervemail, which
said in response to one complaint that it’s in dis-
cussion with the group about its sending prac-
tices.
The Freedom Foundation’s SPAM cam-
paign, like the rest of their so-called “opt out”
campaign, has been a massive failure as unions
The 2018 election could readjust America’s pro-corporate
agenda, which places an iron heel of oppression on the neck of
American workers. Since January 2016, we have seen a steady
push by the president and Congressional leadership to deregulate,
undermine environmental protections, and degrade workers’
rights. The shift to increase corporate power is breathtaking.
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s drive to privatize
public education was partially halted this month when a court
ruled against her efforts to unwind President Obama’s rules pro-
tecting students from predatory student loan practices.
Congressional leadership and President Trump were success-
ful in rolling back the Dodd-Frank law’s consumer protections
early in 2018. Remember, these protections were a direct result
of abuses by the banking industry that resulted in the Great Re-
cession that began in 2008.
Trump’s efforts to undermine the collective bargaining agree-
ments between the Federal Government and the American Fed-
eration of Government Employees is just one of a series of efforts
to reduce workers’ rights. The Supreme Court’s Janus decision
in June is another so-called “right-to-work” attack to the heart of
our workers’ movement. The push by the Trump Administration
to eliminate any barrier to profit and wealth for those of his class
is blatant and impacts our country from the selling of public lands
to environmental rollbacks to privatizing the Postal Service and
VA to the undermining of Obamacare.
Thankfully, American workers are paying attention, and are
motivated and engaged in the 2018 elections. Democratic social-
ist candidates defeated long term legislators in New York and
Massachusetts, reflecting our desire for an America that works
for all, not just a select few. Poll after poll reveals a blue wave
that could sweep this country, pushing Republicans out of control
of the U.S. House of Representatives and possibly the U.S. Sen-
ate. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is fighting for his political life
in a state that is fed up with anti-worker shenanigans.
Yes, if we work hard, we could change the face of America.
But don’t for a second think this will be easy. Polls are a snapshot
of what is happening now, not what is reality on Election Day.
Those in power will not give up without a fight, spending mil-
lions in the process.
Oregon is a classic example of a pro-corporate effort to install
one of their own as governor. Since the May primary, Knute
Buehler and a dark money campaign have spent millions to bring
down a popular and successful Gov. Kate Brown. Phil Knight
has contributed $1.5 million to the Buehler campaign. While
Buehler portrays himself as progressive and bi-partisan, his vot-
ing record paints a very different story: He’s voted against the
minimum wage increase, investing in transportation improve-
ments, paid sick leave, and more which — you can find on
BuehlerBadForWorkers.com.
Too many are not paying attention to Oregon’s gubernatorial
election, forgetting Election Night 2010, when we went to bed
thinking Republican Chris Dudley would be our next governor.
Thankfully, John Kitzhaber won by a few thousand votes. Our
win in 2010 came from the hard work of workers across Oregon
going door to door, talking to co-workers, and of course making
telephone calls. We are all stepping up our game in 2018 to main-
tain the pro-worker, progressive wall on the West Coast, which
is reflected in our union density and pro-worker policy wins such
as Medicaid expansion, one of the highest minimum wages in
the country, and establishing a path forward for our housing cri-
sis. Many of Oregon’s problems occur from national pressures
but are solved by a state that finds solutions from a worker and
family perspective: It’s up to us to keep fighting for solutions
that put workers ahead.
Raymond Thomas
Cynthia Newton
Melissa Haggerty
are becoming more and more popular in the
northwest. The only thing the Freedom Foun-
dation seems to be accomplishing is wide-
spread irritation.
If an anti-worker group like the Freedom
Foundation (aka OptOutToday) sends you an
email without your permission, they may be vi-
olating their email provider’s terms of service,
and maybe even the law.
Follow these simple steps to report the
SPAM. First, forward the email to these three
addresses all in one email: (Choose the Wash-
ington or Oregon attorney general, depending
your state.)
support@vervemail.com Freedom Foundation’s email provider
spam@uce.govThe Federal Trade Commission
Oregon: help@oregonconsumer.gov Oregon Attorney General
Washington: CPRcontact@atg.wa.govWashington Atty.
General
Write: “The Freedom Foundation/Opt Out To-
day spammed me at work without my permis-
sion. Please take appropriate action and ask
them to stop sending unsolicited emails.”
Then, just mark the email as “SPAM” or
“JUNK.” In most cases, this automatically
sends a warning message to their email
provider.
NW Accountability Project is a union-backed non-profit that
aims to expose moneyed special interests that are trying to
bring an anti-union agenda to Washington and Oregon.
James Coon
Chris Frost
Sydney Montanaro
If you were hurt
on the job by
someone from
another company,
you have rights to
sue that company,
in addition to
having your
workers’
comp claim.
820 SW Second Ave., Suite 200,
Portland, OR 97204
Scott Sell
Chris Thomas
www.tcnf.legal
The Oregon AFL-CIO is a 138,000-member-strong federation of labor unions.