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JUST RELEASED: 2015 National Employee Freedom Week Survey
posted by: Alana | August 18, 2015, 10:31 PM   


This week marks the third annual National Employee Freedom Week (NEFW) – a week aimed at informing union employees about the freedoms they have to opt out of union membership and the options they have for alternative organizations.

 

AAE and the Nevada Policy Research Institute came together to spearhead National Employee Freedom Week after working with educators and employees all across the country who were searching for information about how to opt out of union membership. Teachers, and other employees, deserve to make informed choices about union membership.

 

As part of this week’s campaign, the NEFW coalition conducted scientific polls of union households to see just how many want to leave their unions given the choice to do so, to find out how many think employees should be have the option to opt-out, and to determine how many people know that opting out is an option at all.

 

The questions were simple:

  1. If it were possible to opt out of membership in a labor union without losing your job or any other penalty, would you do it?
  2. Should employees have the right to decide, without force or penalty, whether to join or leave a labor union? And…
  3. Are you aware that you can opt-out of union membership and of paying all or a portion of your union dues without losing your job or any other penalty?

 

The results proved that our mission to fight for employee freedom is just as critical as ever. See the results HERE.

 

According to the survey, one in four union members said they would opt of their membership if they could do so without losing their job or getting penalized. Further, three in four union members said employees should have the right to decide whether to join or leave a labor union.

 

While teachers in right-to-work states are free to choose alternatives outside of union membership, there are still 21 states where teachers may be asked to pay union fees as a condition of employment. And even in right-to-work states, thousands of teachers are beholden to narrow and unadvertised drop windows.

 

For the third consecutive year since its inception, the NEFW coalition grew even larger and more robust than the year before with a whopping 99 organizations joining the fight to defend employee freedom.

 

The fact is - just like the rest of America – teachers deserve the freedom to choose membership in any association. Rigid laws and agreements that favor labor unions over teachers are counter-productive. In 2012 alone, 140,000 educators left the largest teacher union in the nation. And today, the 2015 National Employee Freedom Week poll further showed that a third of union members would opt out if given the chance to leave without fear of repercussion.

 

This is further proof that worker freedom is an American value that is supported nationwide. And when teachers have the right to choose, many choose to flee the union to find protection in professional organizations that provide similar benefits – at a fraction of the cost.

 

Later this week, AAE will be releasing the results of the 2015 Workforce and Pension Policy survey to highlight member views on these issues. Stay tuned to the AAE blog for results!

 

Celebrate with us by sharing the NEFW mission with 3 of your colleagues, then tell us about it in the comments below!
Comment Below.

 

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