Refuse to be harassed

As nurses who have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic for nearly 10 months, providing care to patients and essential public health services to our communities, we may be exhausted, but we won’t be fooled or harassed.

Our WSNA Local Unit has been informed that the so-called “Freedom Foundation” has demanded that Whatcom County hand over the name, birthdate and email address of every Whatcom County employee. The Freedom Foundation wanted the County to provide even more intrusive personal information, but our union joined with other labor unions and filed a lawsuit that successfully prevented that from happening. Unfortunately, Whatcom County cannot legally stop the Freedom Foundation from getting our names, birthdates and email addresses.

The Freedom Foundation wants us to think things would be better if we didn’t have our union or that nothing would change if we just stopped paying our membership dues. That’s just nonsense. Our membership and solidarity with each other is the only thing that allows us to speak with one unified voice and achieve contract gains that protect the public, our patients and our professional lives.

So who is the Freedom Foundation and why will they try to convince us to give up our union voice?

The Freedom Foundation is, at its rotten core, anti-worker and anti-union. Their goal is to undermine unions so they can implement an extreme agenda that includes cutting health care, pensions and wages of workers, undermining funding and privatizing public services, and attacking the rights of underrepresented communities. 

Freedom Foundation undermines public health messages during the pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, while we have been on the front lines providing care to patients and encouraging the public to follow science-based public health advice, the Freedom Foundation has perpetuated a public campaign of misinformation about the dangers of this virus. You can learn much more about the Freedom Foundation and their nefarious agenda here. 

Freedom Foundation harassment tactics and how you can stop it:

Freedom Foundation operatives have been known to show up at facilities where employees work. They have harassed union members at their homes. They have even gone to the homes of workers and claimed to be a representative of the worker’s union. The good news is that if we are informed and ready, we can stop them and their dirty tricks. Here are some tips to protect yourself if you are contacted by the Freedom Foundation.

Freedom Foundation Email harassment and how you can stop it

All of us are likely to be contacted by email, with messages that encourage us to drop our union membership. Contrary to what the so-called Freedom Foundation says, our active involvement in our union is what keeps us strong. We have negotiated with management agreements that our members have ratified time and again. We need 100% membership and involvement so we can keep pushing, keep advocating and keep winning at the bargaining table and at the State Legislature for our members and our community. Here are some ways you can block unwanted email from the Freedom Foundation:

1. Reporting email as SPAM or Junk: Outlook and other email servers will often allow you to report messages as spam which helps to identify and filter similar messages and those from the same sender as spam.
2. Blocking a Message: Another option, if you employer uses Outlook is to block a message. This option will add the sender of the message to a block list and automatically mark any message from them as junk.
3. FTC Do Not Call Registry: If you receive an unwanted call from the Freedom Foundation you can report it to the FTCs do not call registry (National Do Not Call Registry). I'm not sure this will result in anything, but it's an action that members can take.

We are in this together

As union nurses we know we do our best work when we work together and our commitment to each other through our union is no different. If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that workers of all kinds, including RNs, need their unions to fight for safe workplaces and fair pay. Now more than ever we need every nurse to stand together in our union to ensure the best care for our community and the strongest voice for our profession.

Let’s not be fooled or harassed by an organization that aims to destroy our unity.

Please contact any Local Unit officer or Nurse Representative Hanna Welander if you have any questions or if you are contacted by the Freedom Foundation.

In Solidarity and Happy Holidays,
Your union officer team - Julie Rose, Co-Chair; Erin Schuldt, Co-Chair