The Independent Women’s Forum and The Independent Women’s Voice:
Not Independent, Not Neutral on Unions

The Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) says it’s a “non-partisan research and education
institution.” The Independent Women’s Voice (IWV) claims to represent the views of
independent women voters and to “ensure that mainstream women’s voices are heard.”
But these organizations are most definitely not independent, mainstream, or neutral.
IWF and IWV are deeply imbedded in the right-wing political infrastructure, have long
connections to the Koch Brothers, and promote right-wing, often anti-women, policies, and
politicians.
“Independent” branding is calculated and misleading
Passing themselves as “independent” and “neutral” has allowed IWF and IWV to garner media
opportunities to promote right-wing causes and candidates without scrutiny of their true agenda
or allegiances.
“Being branded as neutral, but actually having people who know know that you’re actually
conservative puts us in a unique position,” Heather Richardson Higgins, IWV President and IWF
Board Chair has admitted.
The IWF and IWV have taken advantage of their “neutral brand” and free pass from the media
to speak out against equal pay, paid family leave, the “Violence Against Women Act,” Title IX,
the Republican “War on Women,” rape on campus, regulated childcare, and provide false
equivalence on other women’s economic and social issues. They are also frequently asked to
weigh-in on a wide variety of public issues from guns to gay marriage, from education to the
environment.
Here is a snapshot of positions taken and quotes from IWF and IWV’s issue “experts” on
unions:

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IWF uses the terms “union thugs” and “union thuggery” in their advocacy materials. 
  

•

IWF has released a six-page white paper entitled, “Unions Fail Women” that argues
unions are harmful because “overly-generous compensation packages make our
companies (and our economy) less competitive” and that “unions play an increasingly
destructive role in our economy.”

•

IWV President Heather Higgins has stated that IWV was very involved in the Wisconsin
recall efforts, and launched a union attack ad campaign, “Is That Really Fair?.” IWV also
sponsored phone and online efforts that engaged voters with “union information” quizzes
regarding the salaries of union employees and other issues. Higgins has declared the
response rate was very high, and that they will seek to replicate the model moving
forward.

 •

On its Workplace Regulation policy page, IWV states that “Unfortunately, for too long,
politicians have promised government workers compensation that is far greater than the
public could afford.”

•

In a piece entitled, “There’s A Reason Why Support for Unions Has Declined,” IWF’s
Carrie Lukas has written that “Private sector unionization has declined because our
economy has become much more competitive in recent decades. Auto manufacturers,
for example, with much higher labor costs due to unionization simply couldn’t compete
(at least without massive government bailouts) with overseas manufacturers,” arguing
that market forces – not government policy, and the decades long war against
unionization from the right – are the sole reason for de-unionization in America.

•

IWF helped promote the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case challenging
union fees. Following the 4-4 ruling that upheld the right to require public employees to
pay union dues as a condition of employment, IWF declared, “This was not a victory for
free speech and individual liberty.”

•

IWF has blogged that, through OHSA, “the U.S. Department of Labor is targeting
Southern vehicle and auto-parts manufacturers because of their failure to unionize.”

•

IWF has highlighted the writing of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)’s
CEO Lisa Nelson, who used her Red States blog to support “‘worker freedom,’ or the
right to refuse to join a union.” Since its inception in 1973, ALEC has been working to deunionize the country, and has been a key force behind the spread of so-called “Right-ToWork” laws. IWF participated in ALEC this year to oppose efforts to raise the minimum
wage and more.

•

IWF has been very hostile to the National Labor Relations Board. In its “Unions Fail
Women” white paper, IWF’s Carrie Lukas wrote, “The NLRB also issued a 194-page
rule requiring employers to display posters informing employees about the right to
organize… Frighteningly, it’s unelected bureaucrats (not even our elected
representatives) who are making these job-destroying decisions! This union cause is
being advanced at a great cost to taxpayers and the economy.”