Record number of public employees abandoned their unions this quarter

Government employees have left unions in record numbers since July.

The Freedom Foundation reported 13,000 employees are now former union members, which included a steady decrease of over 4,000 every month, as of the third quarter of this year. Between Sept. 10 and 16, a record of 1,390 opt-outs were reported. The previous single-day record was beaten with 445 in a single day.

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“I couldn’t be more proud of the work the Freedom Foundation is doing to help people keep more of their hard-earned paychecks and stop funding distant, bloated, ideological government unions,” Freedom Foundation CEO Aaron Withe said in a statement. “These aren’t merely statistics; they represent thousands of public employees exercising their constitutional right not to be forced to fund union activity as a condition of employment.

“It’s gratifying to know that as the cost of everyday goods and services continues to rise, our work is directly helping people put more gas in their car or food on their table rather than line the pockets of union bosses who back the very policies causing many of the country’s economic hardships,” Withe said.

Public unions nationwide have about 7 million members and subsequently collect over $5 billion annually in dues. As the average annual rate of dues is $1,000, the Freedom Foundation estimates that $13 million was saved with the third quarter opt-outs alone.

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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that union membership overall fell by 0.2% in 2021 to 10.1% in 2022. Membership among public-sector workers is five times higher than the rate of private-sector workers, at 33.1% versus 6% respectively.

Out of all union members in the workforce, private and public sector employees are almost equal in number at 7.2 million and 7.1 million respectively.