Compared to other states, stripping an unpopular union of its certification in California is a complicated, time-consuming process.
But it isn’t impossible, and the Freedom Foundation doesn’t turn down difficult assignments.
Recently, we sent an email to nearly 75,000 state employees represented by SEIU 1000, California’s largest government employee union, explaining the decertification process in order to gauge the members’ interest.
Given that nearly 38,000 saw and opened the message, we concluded there was plenty.
While the email didn’t go into great detail about how decertification could happen in the Golden State, it at least introduced them to the reality that a process exists by which they could potentially replace a union that serves the leftist political agenda of its leadership rather than the workplace concerns of its members.
For reference, we can estimate from both external sources and our own reporting from opt outs that SEIU 1000 currently has about 45,871 dues-paying members out of more than 96,0000 represented employees — an abysmal 47 percent membership rate, with more opting out every day.
This puts SEIU in a very odd predicament. A minority of diehard members will increasingly be dictating the actions of the majority, which is completely undemocratic. This is why decertification is important.
Unlike Florida, for example, where public-sector unions must conduct a yearly audit and a re-certification election is triggered automatically if its paid membership is found to be less that 60 percent, California Public Employee Review Board (PERB) regulations won’t allow any action regarding SEIU 1000 until 2026.
At that point, critics of the union are free to submit a decertification petition, which will then have to be voted on by all the entire bargaining unit.
While that may seem far away, it’s never too early to start laying the groundwork. The Freedom Foundation is committed to helping these state workers free themselves from a union that only sees them as a cash cow to fund its radical political agenda.
If the responses we got from the email are any indication, there is genuine interest in cleaning house. And there’s no more effective broom than the Freedom Foundation.
Bring on 2026.
