The Evergreen Freedom Foundation, or EFF, under the Freedom Foundation trade name, is a state-based free market conservative think tank located in the state of Washington. The Freedom Foundation has offices in the states of Washington, Oregon, and California. The organization is registered with the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
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Background and mission
The Freedom Foundation was founded in 1991 by Lynn Harsh and former Republican legislator and gubernatorial candidate Bob Williams. The organization, a member of the State Policy Network, has a stated mission "to advance individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited, accountable government." According to the organization, the governing principles of the organization are to "eliminate the desire for dependence on government that has permeated [American] culture," and to promote an understanding of the principles of liberty by "disseminat[ing] those truths and motivat[ing] the citizen to act upon them."
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Policy areas
The Freedom Foundation's efforts center on public policy research and advocacy in the areas of state budget and tax policies, labor, welfare, health care and education reform, and citizenship and governance issues.
Public sector unions
In 2014, the Supreme Court ruled in the Harris v. Quinn case that the "First Amendment prohibits the collection of an agency fee from the plaintiffs in the case, home healthcare providers who do not wish to join or support a union." In February 2017, having determined that the "Service Employee International Union and state governors weren't going to inform home health works about their ability to leave the union," Freedom Foundation launched the "Labor Reform Project", a grassroots and public relations effort to inform these workers of their rights.
The Freedom Foundation contests the power of public sector unions to use mandatory dues to impact public policy, elections and culture. The Freedom Foundation was awarded $1.5 million over three years by the Bradley Foundation to "education union workers about their rights." Their CEO wrote that, "Labor bosses are the single greatest threat to freedom and opportunity in America today. By taking money from hard-working, dues-paying Americans, they're funding a broken political culture in states like Oregon and Washington." He added, "The Freedom Foundation has a proven plan for bankrupting and defeating government unions through education, litigation, legislation and community activation."
In March 2015, the organization filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of four family child-care providers who objected to paying union fees to SEIU 925. In December 2015, the organization encouraged government employees to quit their union membership by dressing as Santa Claus and standing in government buildings.
Foundation litigation and Supreme Court ruling
In 2007, the foundation filed a complaint against the Washington Education Association (WEA), accusing the union of unlawfully spending worker fees on politics. In response to that complaint, the state in turn sued the teachers union on the grounds that the WEA was unlawfully spending some workers' fees on politics. The matter was taken on appeal to the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court unanimously decided in Davenport v. Washington Education Association that states can require public-employee labor unions to get consent from workers before using their fees for political activities. The Washington State Legislature later modified the law in a way that blunted the court's decision.
Lawsuits filed by Washington Attorney General
In May 2016, a judge dismissed a lawsuit filed against the Freedom Foundation by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson's office. The dismissed lawsuit had accused the Freedom Foundation of breaking state campaign-finance laws. Ferguson's office had also filed campaign-disclosure lawsuits against several unions in response to complaints from the Freedom Foundation. Two affiliates of the Service Employees International Union settled lawsuits by agreeing to pay civil penalties to the state over campaign-disclosure omissions.
In October 2016, the office of Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that it had filed a complaint alleging campaign finance violations by the Freedom Foundation regarding the organization's opposition to Initiative 1501, a statewide ballot measure. The complaint was initiated by the Service Employees International Union, which organized the campaign promoting the initiative.
Other issue areas
The organization has filed numerous lawsuits and complaints against public-sector unions, including with respect to the ability of a union to speak to newly hired government employees and a union's failure to file all required political spending reports. Policy analysts for the Freedom Foundation have also documented the impacts of minimum wage increases and mandatory paid sick leave.
Education policy has also been central to the work of the Freedom Foundation. In contesting the influence of public sector unions on education, the foundation has documented how teachers union contracts impact services, objected to how union interests impact school calendars, and spoken out against school employee strikes.
In 2007, the foundation sponsored the "Take the Field with Glenn Beck" event at Seattle's Safeco Field. About 7,000 people attended.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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