Time to celebrate National Employee Freedom Week!

The Center is pleased to once again participate in National Employee Freedom Week (August 18-24) and celebrate pro-worker freedom reforms across the country! NEFW is an annual awareness campaign held each August that seeks to empower every American to make his or her own decision about association or union membership.

Through our EmployeeFreedomMN and EducatedTeachersMN projects, we have worked hard to make sure every public employee in Minnesota knows his or her rights and options regarding union membership.

Union membership is a personal decision, and if you are a public employee who has decided union membership is not the right choice for you, we are here to help you navigate the process of exercising your freedom of choice by opting out.

According to a recent survey by YouGov, 90 percent of teachers respect the right of their colleagues to join the association of their choice and 84 percent think that teachers should be able to join or leave a union at any time. A 2018 survey of state government employees revealed many public-sector union members think the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME is a positive development because it “protects their personal rights and freedoms,” “eliminates what they believe is an unfair labor practice,” and “allows them to save money by not being forced to pay dues.”

As you weigh your options concerning union membership, remember you are not alone. The Center’s two employee freedom projects are communities of Minnesota public employees who serve our state in a variety of public sectors. Visit EmployeeFreedomMN.com and EducatedTeachersMN.com to learn more.