A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision marks a new era of choice and freedom for government employees in Illinois YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AS A GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE HAVE CHANGED. For decades, government employees in Illinois have had to make an unfair choice: Pay money to a union, or forfeit your job. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2018 that being forced to fund an organization you may not support is a violation of your First Amendment rights. Now you can hold a government job without paying dues or fees to a union. Opting out of paying money to the union will not affect the compensation and benefits provided in your collective bargaining agreement, including salary and wages, health insurance, pension, seniority and more. UNDER THE COURT’S DECISION, YOU CAN OPT OUT OF THE UNION FOR ANY REASON. • Perhaps you don’t feel like the union represents you well. • Perhaps the union failed to give you adequate representation in a grievance. • Maybe you disagree with the union’s political spending. Opting out allows you the freedom to choose who or what your hard-earned money supports. HERE’S HOW TO DO IT. • Step 1: Use the enclosed letter and envelope to tell AFSCME you are opting out. • Step 2: Log on to the Illinois.gov Authentication Portal as an employee to alert your agency of your change in union status. You can go to the portal at leaveafscme.com/opt-out. ARE YOU ALREADY A “FAIR SHARE” EMPLOYEE? To best ensure your employer stops deducting union fees from your paycheck, you should follow step 2 above to notify your employer that it is no longer authorized to deduct union fees. WANT MORE INFO? Visit leaveafscme.com or send an email to help@leavemyunion.com. MEMBER MONEY SPENT ON POLITICS AFSCME COUNCIL 31 AND AFSCME HEADQUARTERS SPEND MILLIONS ON POLITICS. Between 2013 and 2017, they spent over $213 million on political activities and lobbying. AFSCME HEADQUARTERS FREQUENTLY SPENDS MORE ON POLITICS THAN IT DOES ON REPRESENTING WORKERS. Federal reporting documents show that AFSCME headquarters spent, on average, over $50 million a year on political activities and lobbying in the last 10 years – but under $42 million a year on representational activities. COUNCIL 31’S PAC SPENDS MILLIONS ON ILLINOIS DEMOCRATS. Between 2013 and 2017, it directed over $6.8 million to election committees and other political action committees in Illinois. Of that amount, 74 percent was directed toward Democratic committees or organizations, with just 6 percent toward Republican committees or organizations. The remainder went to committees or organizations not necessarily tied to a political party. A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision marks a new era of choice and freedom for public school employees in Illinois YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AS A PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEE HAVE CHANGED. For decades, public school employees in Illinois have had to make an unfair choice: Pay money to a union, or forfeit your job. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2018 that being forced to fund an organization you may not support is a violation of your First Amendment rights. Now you can hold a job at a public school without paying dues or fees to a union. Opting out of paying money to the union will not affect the compensation and benefits provided in your collective bargaining agreement, including salary and wages, health insurance, pension, seniority and more. UNDER THE COURT’S DECISION, YOU CAN OPT OUT OF THE UNION FOR ANY REASON. • Perhaps you don’t feel like the union represents you well. • Perhaps the union failed to give you adequate representation in a grievance. • Maybe you disagree with the union’s political spending. MEMBER MONEY SPENT ON POLITICS CTU’S NATIONAL AFFILIATES, IFT AND AFT, SPEND MILLIONS ON POLITICS. Between 2013 and 2017, IFT and AFT spent over $164 million on political activities and lobbying. CTU SENDS MONEY TO HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE MADIGAN’S POLITICAL FUND. CTU’s PAC gave at least $180,000 between 2013 and 2017 to Madigan and Madigan-controlled committees in Illinois. Opting out allows you the freedom to choose who or what your hard-earned money supports. HERE’S HOW TO DO IT. • The process is fairly simple: Use the enclosed letters to 1) tell CTU you are opting out of the union, and then 2) tell CPS it no longer has authorization to collect union dues or fees from your paycheck. • Time is of the essence. Because of restrictions in the contract, you can only send these letters in August each year – not before, and not after. • DO NOT SIGN any forms that say you allow the deduction from your paycheck. ARE YOU ALREADY A “FAIR SHARE” EMPLOYEE? To best ensure your employer stops deducting union fees from your paycheck, you should follow step 2 above to notify your employer that it is no longer authorized to deduct union fees. WANT MORE INFO? Visit leaveafscme.com or send an email to help@leavemyunion.com. A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision marks a new era of choice and freedom for public school employees in Illinois YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AS A PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEE HAVE CHANGED. For decades, public school employees in Illinois have had to make an unfair choice: Pay money to a union, or forfeit your job. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2018 that being forced to fund an organization you may not support is a violation of your First Amendment rights. MEMBER MONEY SPENT ON POLITICS IEA AND NEA SPEND MILLIONS ON POLITICS. Now you can hold a job at a public school without paying dues or fees to a union. Between 2013 and 2017, IEA and NEA spent over $219 million on political activities and lobbying. Opting out of paying money to the union will not affect the compensation and benefits provided in your collective bargaining agreement, including salary and wages, health insurance, pension, seniority and more. NEA HAS BEEN KNOWN TO SPEND MORE ON POLITICS THAN ON REPRESENTING WORKERS. UNDER THE COURT’S DECISION, YOU CAN OPT OUT OF THE UNION FOR ANY REASON. • Perhaps you don’t feel like the union represents you well. • Perhaps the union failed to give you adequate representation in a grievance. • Maybe you disagree with the union’s political spending. Opting out allows you the freedom to choose who or what your hard-earned money supports. HERE’S HOW TO DO IT. • The process is fairly simple: Use the enclosed letters to 1) opt out of the union, and then 2) tell your employer it no longer has authorization to collect union dues or fees from your paycheck. Federal reporting documents reveal that twice in the last five years, NEA has spent more on political activities and lobbying than it has on representational activities. IEA’S PAC SPENDS MILLIONS ON ILLINOIS POLITICS. Between 2013 and 2017, it directed over $11.3 million to election committees and other political action committees in Illinois. • Time is of the essence. Mail the letters before the end of August to comply with any potential timelines imposed by the union. • DO NOT SIGN any forms that say you allow the deduction from your paycheck. ARE YOU ALREADY A “FAIR SHARE” EMPLOYEE? To best ensure your employer stops deducting union fees from your paycheck, you should follow step 2 above to notify your employer that it is no longer authorized to deduct union fees. WANT MORE INFO? Visit leaveafscme.com or send an email to help@leavemyunion.com.