If there’s one thing that right-wing think tanks do well, it’s messaging. In most states, anti-union think tanks are hard at work to push model laws that break unions and privatize public services. This is nothing more than a hostile take-over of the public good. Many of them use impact words that pull on American heartstrings and call patriotism into play. Groups like the Freedom Foundation, The Heritage Foundation and the Pioneer institute are anything but patriotic. They are corporate organizations hell-bent on maximizing profit.
On September 29, 2017, members of District Council 5 united with fellow union workers and activists to protest the presence of the Freedom Foundation in Bellevue, Washington. Contrary to what their moniker suggests, the Freedom Foundation is an anti-union organization whose primary agenda is to eradicate organized labor and swindle the working class. Representatives and members from DC 5 stood in solidarity at Bellevue Park with the Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity (OWLS), the Martin Luther King County Labor Council (MLKCLC), and several other local unions. This was a monumental day for organized labor in the state of Washington because they made it clear to the Freedom Foundation that their anti-union rhetoric will not be tolerated.