Last Updated on October 20, 2023, 2:25 PM | Published: October 20, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY – A 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, The Right to Work Legal Defense and Education Foundation Inc., is representing a worker at the Nichols Hills Starbucks (SBUX) store with the aim to decertify Starbucks Workers United union from representing workers in the store.
This organization is offering to represent Starbucks workers free of charge across the country who want to file with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for decertification of Starbucks Workers United as the bargaining agent at their store.
According to a press release by the Foundation, they’ve taken on cases against SBUX Workers United in these locations:
- Manhattan, NY
- Buffalo, NY
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Bloomington, MN
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Greenville, SC
And now, the Foundation is representing one worker at the 63rd and Grand or Nichols Hills Starbucks store, the first where workers petitioned for union representation and the first where workers voted in Starbucks Workers United as their bargaining agent. Currently, there are 27 workers at the location.
The Starbucks corporation claims to have no connection with the Foundation’s work in this effort. In a prepared statement to Free Press, spokesperson Kathy Allen wrote, “Starbucks has no affiliation with The National Right to Work Foundation, has made no contribution to the organization and has not been party to efforts by the Foundation to assist partners seeking to file a decertification petition with the NLRB. The law prohibits Starbucks from assisting partners seeking to decertify Workers United.”
The tone of the Foundation’s statements would lend the casual reader to believe that the OKC Starbucks worker is somehow compelled to be in the union.
Compulsory union membership is forbidden by law in Oklahoma and over 20 other states. There is no such thing as a “closed shop” in the state where all employees have to pay union dues or even bargaining fees for representation.
On the other hand, contract agreements earned in union negotiations with management benefit all workers in Smith’s store, not just union members. That is true in any company in Oklahoma where a union negotiates for contracts.
The Foundation background
The Foundation has connections to several conservative groups according to the Center for Media and Democracy.
It was originally founded in 1968 as the legal arm of the National Right to Work Committee (NRTWC). The NRTWC is a lobbying organization that works with legislators at the state and federal levels to push anti-union legislation.
One group the Foundation has ties to is the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation (LHBF). The LHBF gives out grants to various conservative groups. One report found that the LHBF had given over $500 million to conservative “public-policy experiments” between 2000 and 2013. In 2021, the LHBF gave the Foundation $150,000.
The Right to Work Foundation is also known to mingle with the Koch Brothers. The President of the Foundation, Mark A. Mix, attended the June 2010 Koch Strategy Group Meeting. He spoke on the “Mobilizing Citizens for November” panel along with Koch operative Sean Noble, and Tim Phillips of Americans for Prosperity.
But one group is more involved with the Foundation than any other group – The Federalist Society (FedSoc). FedSoc, one of the most influential legal organizations in the country, is a conservative and libertarian legal organization. There are 18 litigators listed as Federalist Society members on the Foundation’s website. Only one litigator didn’t have the Federalist Society badge on their profile.
How much money does the Foundation have? Here are the numbers according to the 2021 IRS filings available by ProPublica:
- Revenue: $9,345,910.
- Expenses: $6,804,176.
- Net Income: $2,541,734.
- Net Assets: $43,232,813.
Contributions make up about 75.5% of their revenue with Sales of Assets coming in about 14.5% of revenue. The biggest expense the Foundation has is Salaries and Wages at 53.4%. Executive compensation is 10.8% of expenses.
The Foundation’s Total Assets are at $44,865,136 while its Total Liabilities are $1,632,323 leaving Net Assets at $43,232,813.
The Foundation has had plenty of notable Supreme Court cases since the 1970s:
- Janus v. AFSCME (2018)
- Harris v. Quinn (2014)
- Knox v. Service Employees International Union (2012
- Davenport v. Washington Education Association (2007)
- Marquez v. Screen Actors Guild (1998)
- Air Line Pilots Association v. Miller (1998)
- Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Association (1991)
- Communications Workers of America v. Beck (1988)
- Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson (1986)
Janus v. AFSCME (2018)
Janus v. AFSCME is the most recent Supreme Court decision that the Foundation has had a hand in. This decision overruled the 1977 Supreme Court decision Abood v. Detroit Board of Education. The Abood case held that the “union shop”, which is legal in the private sector, is also legal in the public sector.
Janus v. AFSCME originated in a previous court case Rauner v. AFSCME.
The governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner, blamed Illinois’ financial situation on public sector unions and issued an executive order directing the state of Illinois to pass on fees to the unions. Expecting a fight from the unions, Rauner filed a lawsuit Rauner v. AFSCME.
This lawsuit was originally advanced by the Illinois Policy Institute’s Justice Center. The federal court found that Rauner didn’t have standing in that case, so he got a small group of affected workers to put themselves forward including a worker named Mark Janus. In the end, the Supreme Court sided with the Foundation and held that some union fees in the public sector violated workers’ First Amendment rights.
Alyssa K. Hazelwood
One of the National Right to Work Legal Defense and Education Foundation’s staff attorneys was assigned to Amy Smith, the worker who brought the petition to decertify the SBUX Workers United union in Nichols Hills. Her name is Alyssa K. Hazelwood.
Hazelwood has had a very well-connected career.
She graduated from Michigan State University in 2009. From there she attended the University of Notre Dame Law School from 2011 to 2012. According to her LinkedIn, there she was a Research Assistant for Amy Coney Barrett who later became a Supreme Court Justice.
From 2013 to 2014, she worked as a Legal Researcher for The Heritage Foundation. In 2016, she became a staff attorney for the Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
Hazelwood is also a member of the Federalist Society along with the vast majority of her co-workers.
Alex Gatley covers labor activities in the state of Oklahoma.
