Bill McMorris of the Washington Free Beacon details interesting survey results involving public-sector unions.
One-in-three public sector workers would leave their unions given the chance, according to a new poll.
Government union members won the right to cease automatic fee payments to unions in June after the Supreme Court found that mandatory dues as a condition of employment violated the U.S. Constitution. A poll found that a large portion of workers plan on taking that option now that it is available to them following the Supreme Court’s 5-4 Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees ruling overturning coercive unionism.
“One-third plan to change what they are paying, with 6% saying they have already stopped paying dues and 25% saying they plan to stop paying,” the poll found.
The online survey found the majority of the 300-plus respondents intend to maintain paying their union dues or at least agency fees, which cover the cost of union representation activities, such as collective bargaining and grievance proceedings, while not funding political activities. One of the reasons public sector dues came under legal scrutiny was the determination that government unions were inherently political since issues such as dues and wages would affect government policy. The Court agreed with the plaintiffs’ argument that their dues amounted to coerced political support.