Know your rights: Union opt-out month approaches for educators

Back-to-school season will soon once again be underway, and so will the annual opportunity for educators to decide if union membership is right for them.

From Sept. 1 until Sept. 30 — yes, during the busiest time of year for teachers — Minnesota educators can exercise their right to op-out of the union, as financially supporting Education Minnesota and its affiliates is no longer required in order to keep teaching. (Prior to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2018, Minnesota educators and other public employees were required to pay either agency fees as non-union members or dues as members if they wanted to work in the public sector.)

Union membership is a personal decision, and for a variety of reasons, Minnesota educators have been deciding it is not right for them or their professional needs. Since 2018, the number of educators financially supporting Education Minnesota is down nine percent.

Saying “no thanks” to financially supporting the union is not an attack on teachers or the teaching profession. Rather, it’s an attempt to get the union’s attention and let them know they are missing the mark on what teachers want them to prioritize. And it’s important that respect exists for that choice. The right to say “no” to union membership is just as important as the right to say “yes” to it.

Fast Facts

• New teachers, you cannot be required to join a union.
  
• Your employer, the school district, cannot discriminate against you based on your union membership status.
  
• Salary and benefits are provided by your employer, the school district, and are not impacted by union membership status.
  
• Your pension is not impacted by union membership status.
  
• Tenure and seniority are not impacted by union membership status.
  
• The union is not the only one that offers liability insurance and legal consult.
  
• You have the right to a representative at a disciplinary meeting.
  
• Non-members are not “free loaders” or “scabs” — the union fought for and won the right to be the exclusive representative for all employees within the collective bargaining unit.

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Interested in connecting with other educators who have decided union membership isn’t right for them? Reach out to us at [email protected]. You are not alone!