(The Center Square) – August ended on a high note for a free market conservative think tank that helps public employees opt out of their unions.
Maddie Dermon is director of communications at the Freedom Foundation, just coming off a record week for opt-outs.
“In one week, we helped 1,304 people leave their unions, and that cost big labor more than $1 million in dues money drained from union coffers,” said Dermon.
A key focus for the Freedom Foundation is informing public employees about their First Amendment right to opt out of union dues, which became an option after the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
The high court ruled that public sector unions could not require member participation as a condition of employment, as the organizations use the dues money to engage in political speech.
“Those dues are often spent by big labor in support of a radical political agenda, rather than support of a workers well-being in the workplace,” said Dermon.