(The Center Square) – A free-market conservative think tank, the Freedom Foundation, ended August on a high note by assisting public employees in opting out of their unions.
Maddie Dermon, the foundation's director of communications, reported a record-breaking week for opt-outs.
“In just one week, we helped 1,304 people leave their unions, resulting in more than $1 million in dues lost by big labor,” Dermon stated.
The Freedom Foundation focuses on educating public employees about their First Amendment right to opt out of union dues, a right established by the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
The high court ruled that public sector unions cannot require employees to participate as members as a condition of employment, arguing that the dues collected are often used for political speech.
“Those dues are often spent by big labor to support a radical political agenda rather than the well-being of workers in the workplace,” said Dermon.
“We’ve assisted over 186,000 public employees in opting out of union membership since the Janus decision,” Dermon continued. “That has cost big labor nearly $500 million in union dues.”
The Foundation reaches public employees through direct mail, email, and digital advertising campaigns.
“Our outreach efforts are most effective in California and Washington state, which are major strongholds for big labor,” said Dermon.
“In California, we’ve averaged more than 1,250 opt-outs per month, and it’s not slowing down,” Dermon added. “In August, 928 Washington state public employees opted out of union membership.”
Most of these opt-outs came from SEIU 2015, the Washington Education Association, SEIU 1000, and the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE).
As of July 29, 2024, the WFSE reported over 50,000 members. It is the largest union for state employees in Washington and is part of the AFL-CIO and AFSCME, the largest public service employee union in the country.
As of July 1, 2024, WFSE member dues are set at 1.5% of a member's gross monthly salary, with a cap of $125.66 per month, totaling up to $1,507.92 per year.
“They don’t want people opting out of paying dues, so we hear from many workers who feel intimidated,” said Dermon, who informed The Center Square that public employees often fear losing their health insurance and other benefits. “We want to make sure they understand that even if they opt out, the union is still obligated to represent them in the workplace; the only thing they lose is their right to vote in a union election.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the union membership rate—the percentage of workers who were members of unions—was 10% in 2023, representing approximately 14.4 million workers. This figure shows little change from the previous year. In contrast, the nationwide union membership rate in 1983, the first year for which comparable data is available, was 20.1%.
In 2023, BLS also reported that union membership rates were highest among local government employees, at 38.4%. This includes professions such as police officers, firefighters, and teachers.
The Washington Education Association, which represents teachers and other educational employees, reports that union dues are allocated to various causes, including bargaining efforts, professional and leadership development, legislative and political activities, and racial, social, and economic justice.
As of July 29, 2024, the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE)—the largest union for state employees in Washington and a part of the AFL-CIO and AFSCME, the largest public service employee union in the country—reported having over 50,000 members. As of July 1, 2024, WFSE member dues are set at 1.5% of a member's gross monthly salary, capped at $125.66 per month or $1,507.92 per year.