Samuel ColemanDuring the holiday months, the Freedom Foundation reached out to thousands of teachers across California to give them a simple message — give yourself a holiday bonus by ceasing your union dues deduction.
For teachers in the Golden State, union dues are no small matter. Teachers pay the most of any public employee in the state — between $1,200 to $1,500 every year to three different unions — so it’s no wonder the Freedom Foundation campaign yielded more than 200 opt outs in just six weeks.
In addition to giving themselves a welcome Christmas present at no further expense to taxpayers, the effort had the added benefit of weakening the unions. Based on an initial estimate, the campaign will take $260,000 out of the union coffers and put it back where it belongs — inside teachers’ pockets.
And opt-outs weren’t the only thing pouring in during this campaign. California office staffers were surprised by the number of Christmas cards and words of encouragement from teachers deciding to exercise their constitutional rights.
One newly retired teacher wrote, “If only opting out (of the union) had been possible during my working days! Best wishes for your important work.” – D.P
Another current teacher said, “This is great news! Please keep fighting these evil unions. Keep going & Good Luck!” G.H
These teachers join the thousands of other teachers who’ve already used our services to opt-out of their union membership.
We’re ecstatic that we’re able to share the gift of financial savings with teachers and couldn’t have found a better way to ring in the new year.