Principles for Worker Freedom and Opportunity

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Principles for Worker Freedom and Opportunity

Preamble

We believe that earned success through work creates dignity and well-being. We believe in the right of individuals to pursue their desired work or occupation and to exercise their freedom of speech and association in the workplace—whether they work for an employer or for themselves. We believe that workers and families are best served by government policies that promote ample work opportunities and rising incomes without distorting labor markets through burdensome mandates and regulations.

As advocates for workers’ rights, we stand for the following principles:

1. The Right to Work. Every worker should have the right to work without having to pay an outside organization or fund politics they do not support.
   
   
2. Freedom of Representation and Association. Employees should be free to negotiate directly with their employer and should not be forced to accept representation from a private organization they do not support. Employees should be as free to leave a union or remove a union from their workplace as they are to join or bring one in.
   
   
3. Free and Fair Elections. Workers should have the right to vote in secret ballot elections so that they can express their true preference without outside influence. There should be free and robust debate during union organizing campaigns and workers should hear from both sides so that they can make informed decisions.
   
   
4. Independent Contractor Freedom. Entrepreneurs and workers should be free to decide for themselves whether they want to work for an employer or for themselves regardless of their education, income, or industry.
   
   
5. Traditional Joint Employer Standard. Small businesses and their employees are typically best served when they can work directly with one another as opposed to government policy imposing corporate control and legal liabilities into their operations.
6. Unlimited Earnings Potential. Every worker deserves to be compensated for their contributions without a union contract capping their pay.
   
   
7. Retirement Savings Ownership and Control. Workers should have control over their retirement savings. Pensions should be adequately funded, and investment managers should maximize risk-adjusted returns without using workers’ retirement funds to advance a political agenda.
   
   
8. Flexible and Tailored Benefits. Employees and employers should have the freedom to establish workplace benefits that are best for them instead of being forced into one-size-fits-all government mandates.
   
   
9. Freedom of Information. Every union member deserves to know how their union is spending their hard-earned dues money. The U.S. Department of Labor should ensure that workers receive sufficient transparency reports on their unions.
   
   
10. Freedom from Harassment. Employees, managers, and employers have a right to be free from harassment, threats, stalking, and violence in the workplace, especially during union-organizing campaigns or collective-bargaining negotiations.
    
    
11. Competition Is Essential. Mandating one-size-fits-all bargaining for workers across entire industries harms competition and the flexibility needed to allow workers and small business to excel. Labor law in the United States should not go down the road of sectoral bargaining, because it would hurt employees, consumers, and innovation.
    
    
12. Competitive, Unbiased Government Contracting. Government contracts should be granted based on efficiency, and selecting companies that provide the best product at the lowest cost, regardless of whether the company is unionized or not.

Vincent Vernuccio
President
Institute for the American Worker

Rachel Greszler
Senior Research Fellow
Heritage Foundation

Saulius Anuzis
President
60 Plus Association

Rachel Oglesby
Director, Center for the American Worker
America First Policy Institute

Elisabeth Messenger
Chief Executive Officer
Americans for Fair Treatment

Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform

Akash Chougule
Vice President
Americans for Prosperity

Will Swaim
President
California Policy Center

Michael Watson
Research Director
Capital Research Center

Keith J. Williams
Senior Vice President
Center for Independent Employees

Diana Petrak
Founder
Colorado Policy Pathways

Sean Higgins
Research Fellow
Competitive Enterprise Institute

Brian Minnich
Executive Vice President
Freedom Foundation

Mario H. Lopez
President
Hispanic Leadership Fund

Mailee Smith
Senior Director of Labor Policy
Illinois Policy Institute

Carrie Lukas
President
Independent Women’s Forum

Sarah Durand
Vice President of Government Affairs
Kentucky Forum for Rights, Economics and Education

Michael Melendez
Executive Vice President
Libertas Institute

Shannon Meade
Executive Director
Litler Workplace Policy Institute

Stephen Delie
Director of Labor Policy
Mackinac Center for Public Policy

Mike Hruby
President
New Jobs America

Tom Hebert
Executive Director
Open Competition Center

Paul Gessing
President
Rio Grande Foundation

Dr. Steven J. Allen
Vice Chairman and National Field Director
The Conservative Caucus

Diana Furchtgott-Roth
Former Chief Economist
United States Department of Labor

Kristina Rasmussen
President
Virginia Works

Lindsay Killen
National Advisor
Workers for Opportunity

Carol Platt Liebau
President
Yankee Institute