Oregon just passed a law fining a nonprofit $6,250 per letter for telling government workers they can quit their union.
The Supreme Court said they could quit in 2018.
What Democrats did to bury that ruling – and who is copying them right now – is the story Big Labor is paying millions to keep off your radar.
How Oregon Made It Illegal to Tell Public Employees They Can Opt Out of Union Dues
In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that no government employee in America can be forced to pay union dues as a condition of keeping their job.
Five million public workers won that right.
Most of them still don't know it exists.
The unions who would lose dues revenue by telling them have zero intention of doing so.
That's where the Freedom Foundation comes in.
For years, the Freedom Foundation has mailed letters to government employees explaining the Janus ruling in plain English – what it means, how to opt out, and how much money workers keep in their own pockets when they do.
It works.
In 2025, more than 5,000 Oregon government employees quit their union after reading one of those letters.
Oregon Democrats' response was to make the letters illegal.
House Bill 3789, which took effect January 1, 2026, lets public sector unions sue the Freedom Foundation $6,250 per piece of mail sent to workers explaining their right to opt out.
Not per fraudulent letter. Not per deceptive communication.
Per any letter a labor-aligned judge decides looks too much like it came from a union.
During the entire legislative debate, not one Democrat, not one union boss, and not one government employee produced a single example of the Freedom Foundation impersonating anyone.
No victims. No fraud.
Just 5,000 workers who read a letter, learned the truth, and stopped writing checks to people who used that money to fund Democrat campaigns.
If the Freedom Foundation's work wasn't effective, they wouldn't make it a crime.
New York and Hawaii Copy the Oregon Playbook to Crush Union Dues Opt-Out Rights
The Freedom Foundation sued immediately.
A federal district court judge dismissed the case – ruling the Foundation couldn't challenge the law until a union actually sued them under it.
Oregon's model worked.
New York noticed.
Last month, New York introduced SB 9577.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board reported that the statutory language is copied word for word from Oregon's law – with one modification.
New York's fine is $15,000 per letter.
Chuck Schumer's state didn't copy the template. It doubled the weapon.
Hawaii went further.
SB 3055 passed the full Hawaii Senate, cleared its first House committee, and is scheduled for a final vote this week.
Union officials testified before Hawaii legislators that the bill targets the Freedom Foundation specifically – and cited Oregon as the direct inspiration.
They didn't even pretend it was about fraud.
Three states. Identical legislation. Coordinated rollout. All timed to advance before the 9th Circuit rules on Oregon's law.
This Is What Union Cash Actually Buys
Public employee unions are the single largest source of campaign contributions to Democrat politicians in blue states.
Oregon's governor who signed HB 3789 – union cash.
The lawmakers who passed it – union cash.
The attorney general named as a defendant in the Freedom Foundation's lawsuit – union cash.
That money doesn't come from nowhere.
It comes from the paychecks of government employees who never voted to join a union, never agreed to fund political campaigns, and have no idea the Supreme Court gave them the right to stop eight years ago.
The Freedom Foundation tells them.
Democrats make that illegal.
The dues keep flowing. The campaign contributions keep flowing. And the workers keep funding a political machine that fights every day to keep them in the dark.
Oregon proved the strategy works – tie your opponent up in federal court, run out their legal budget, and keep collecting dues while the appeals drag on.
New York and Hawaii aren't waiting to see if it survives the 9th Circuit.
They're locking it in before any court can stop them.
If Hawaii passes SB 3055 this week, the next blue state legislature is already watching.
And the right five million Americans won at the Supreme Court in 2018 becomes a right no one is allowed to know about – which means Chuck Schumer and his union bosses win without ever having to overturn a single word of it.
Sources:
- Aaron Withe, "Oregon's Union Crackdown Spreads," RealClearPolicy via Gateway Pundit, April 4, 2026.
- The Editorial Board, "Democrats vs. the Freedom Foundation," The Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2026.
- Freedom Foundation, "Freedom Foundation Appeals Dismissal of Lawsuit Challenging Oregon 'Anti-Impersonation' Law," freedomfoundation.com, March 17, 2026.
- Freedom Foundation, "Freedom Foundation Testifies Against Hawaii's 'Oregon Playbook' Bill Targeting Worker Outreach," freedomfoundation.com, April 1, 2026.
- Freedom Foundation, "Oregon Public Employees Still Opting Out Despite Anti-Freedom Foundation Legislation," freedomfoundation.com, March 2026.
- Freedom Foundation, "Freedom Foundation Sues to Block Oregon Law Silencing Worker Rights Speech," freedomfoundation.com, January 5, 2026.
- Liberty Justice Center, "Janus v. AFSCME," libertyjusticecenter.org, accessed April 2026.
