State-infrastructure recommendation: years to Freedom Foundation {Washington State), with encouragement to wortr with Washington Potter Center and Cascade Poiicy Center (Gregon) Staff recommends a $1,500,000 Barder Fund grant over three years to the Freedom Foundation in Olympia, Wash, to support expansion of its successful new Union Transparency and Reform Project. The Freedom Foundation was founded in 1991 by the action-oriented Bob Wilfiams and Harsh as the Evergreen Freedom Foundation -- other labor- and educationarelated projects of which, including regarding paycheck protection, were supported by Bradley from 1997 to 2009. Bradley started supporting the Freedom Foundation in 2014. Its current chief executive officer is pugilistic Buffalo native Torn McCabe. For 21 years, McCabe led the Building Industry Association of Washington. In 2011, the American Conservative Union awarded him its Ronald Reagan Award for his years of service to the conservative movement. During the McCabe Reagan Administration, he was director of congressional affairs for the federal 1 Characteristics of successfui state - infrastructures a Respected and dynamic teadership a Quality think tankfs) . a Investigative journalism 3 Opposition research a Legal component a Receptive policymakers a Symbiotic relationship with grassroots groups I a Committed local funding support States with 15% or more of total employees who are union members, 2014 New York, 24.6% Alaska, 228% HaWaii, 21.8% Washington, 16.8% New Jersey, 16.5% Calffomfa, 16.3% Oregon, 15.6% Illinois, 15.1% Rhode island, 15.1% Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Veterans Administration. Under McCabe, the Freedom Foundation has already expanded its own activities to include almost all of the weapons in the arsenai of any good conservative state infrastructur whether done by several separate entities or, as in this case, by one. From August 2014?s Barder Fund write-up on state infrastructures, the characteristics of a good one are listed to the left. The Freedom Foundation now has most of those features. it is becoming a national model for state think tanks, and has the potential to become an even- loetter one. At McCabe's behest and following up on Evergreen?s previous work on one specific issue, UTRP more aggressively exposes how the Big Labor agenda hurts Washington State taxpayers, service recipients, and even unionized workers themselves through increased education of policymakers and the public, grassroots outreach, and litigation -- at both the state and municipal lei/sis. This particular project is becoming a national model, top, and an investment in its expansion in Washington State and into Oregon the economy of which is targely intertwined with Washington would be well?warranted and yield positive results nationaliy, staff believes; Wail-funded Big Labor?s strength in Washington and Oregon makes the states something of leading indicators of, and to, the Left. The Freedom Foundation and McCalae actually beiieve the Pacific Coast is ripe to be the next part of the country, after the Midwest, to see a healthy revival of employee rights in public~policymaking As a region (of three states), the Pacific Coast would be the most?heavily unionized. As show in the list to the left, Washington State is the fourth most-unionized state in the country. California is sixth, and Oregon is seventh. The Pacific Coast as a region is more unionized than the Midwest, where so much employee-rights progress has been made recently. While this might be an argument to philanthropically invest elsewhere, or in another issue area, the Pacific Coast as a region is more unionized than the staff believes it to be a reason to go there. Midwest where SO much emptoyee?rights progress has The Freedom Foundation would like to use any Barder Fund been made reoentty. White support to increase its capacity in Washington and with a new donated field office in Portland Ore, to allow it to better: this might be an argument to ohiianthropioatty invest educate union workers themseives about their rights in 33391519?? 533159 which. if and when exercised, woutd area, staff behaves it to be a reason to go there. 2.. defund Big Labor, and, 3. educate local policymakers about those policies that woutd result in greater workplace freedoms and transparency in collective-bargaining negotiations. it would hire a fourth attorney for its litigation team, headed by former Washington State Supreme Court Justice Jim Johnson. It would be abie to achieve wider broadcast reach in both states, and it would conduct even more direct grassroots outreach through added staff and consuitants. In response to the state-infrastructure RFP, Bradiey also received a ioint proposai from Washington Policy Center (WPC) in Seattle and the Cascade Poiicy Institute (CPI) in Portland for what they cali a Freedom NW Project "that wilt advance freedom through a loosening of government and union control and an increase in the setf?reliance of our citizens." Staff believes that McCabe is well-equipped to foster a cooperative reiationship with both WPC and CPI in pursuit of their shared aims and would recommend deferring to him in fostering those relationships, lending whatever type of help that can be offered if and when asked. Michigan's percentage of total employees who are union members is 14.5%, Ohio?s is 12.4%, Wisconsin?s is 11.7%, and tndiana's is 10.7%.