(The Center Square) — A New York proposal that would allow organized labor to take legal action against groups that discourage union membership is drawing criticism and threats of a legal challenge.
The bill, which passed the state Assembly and Senate amid a chaotic end to the legislative session, would make it illegal to “falsely impersonate” a union representative and give state Attorney General Letitia James broad powers to investigate, subpoena and fine any person or organization — including out-of-state groups — for communications she deems to be impersonations. The fine is $1,000 per violation.
Backers of the plan, which is awaiting action by Gov. Kathy Hochul, say the restrictions are aimed at stopping groups that are sending “deceptive” mailers to workers they claim are often mistaken for official union correspondence.
But the Washington, D.C.-based Freedom Foundation said the legislation is a veiled attack on its work in New York, and part of broader efforts by Democratic-led states to silence groups seeking to educate workers about their First Amendment right to opt out of union membership.
“Like proposals in other states, this bill is directly targeted at silencing our outreach efforts,” Max Nelson, the Freedom Foundation’s Director of research and government affairs, told The Center Square. “But it also raises a lot of constitutional issues, and we will definitely be looking at legal challenges to New York’s law should it get final approval from the governor.”
The proposal was based on a law in Oregon that is currently being challenged in court by the foundation. But New York’s proposal goes further than Oregon’s to give a “private right of action” allowing unions to file lawsuits against out-of-state parties that could result in devastating fines, the group said.
Nearly 7,500 New York public employees — out of approximately 968,000 covered by union contracts — have used Freedom Foundation materials to cancel their membership, including more than 1,400 so far this year, the group said.
“Many of these public employees do not have information about their rights even if they do have a sense that union membership is optional,” Nelson said.
He said unions are losing money from the loss of membership dues and are turning to lawmakers to curb the influence of groups like the Freedom Foundation with proposals that threaten hefty fines and civil sanctions.
“They’re obviously none too happy about workers exercising their rights not to join a union and keeping that money in their pockets, instead of giving it to the union to fund their progressive political agenda,” Nelson said. “They’re pushing back in a number of ways.”
Union leaders say the protections are needed to safeguard workers’ rights and push back against conservative groups seeking to reduce public sector membership. They say workers who enjoy union benefits, such as legal representation in arbitration hearings, should have to pay something.
Conservative groups say Democrats, and the labor unions that heavily fund their campaigns, are trying to find a way around the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which held that government workers cannot be forced to contribute to labor unions. to drum up dues.
Organized labor spends millions of dollars lobbying the state government and lawmakers through political action committees, and most of the money goes to Democrats, according to government watchdogs.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board blasted the New York proposal as the ‘Union Protection Act’ and called on Hochul not to sign it.
“The biggest threat to the political power of unions is the flight of their own members, and New York Democrats want to silence groups that encourage them to opt out,” the WSJ board wrote.
