This September, more than 910 government employees in Illinois left their union membership behind with an assist from the Freedom Foundation. And it wasn’t just a one-off event. In fact, it was just the latest in a series of groundbreaking records set by the Freedom Foundation in recent months.
Though nearly half of Illinois’ public-sector workers are unionized, the state’s labor landscape is changing rapidly. Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME affirmed the right of government employees to opt out of union membership and dues, public sector unions in the state lost nearly 25,000 members — a 3.3 percent reduction.
No public employee union in the state has been more affected by this change than SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana (SEIU HCII), whose members significantly contributed to last month’s record. And with good reason: SEIU HCII’s spending, funded by membership dues, prioritizes controversial political figures and union staff leisure over workplace rights.
Since early 2022, SEIU HCII has contributed nearly $1.4 million to Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson, whose proposed $800 million tax increase and rising crime rates have spawned criticism since his inauguration in May. In addition, the union spent $317,000 of membership dues on airlines, car rentals, hotels, catering and restaurants for its officers.
The union reported no purpose for more than $217,000 of this spending.
While SEIU HCII members certainly have reason to reconsider their union membership, they likely never would have known about the union’s questionable tactics without the Freedom Foundation’s outreach campaigns in the state. Throughout the month of September, targeted email campaigns, social media messaging and brochures informed more than 40,000 public employees in Illinois about how their First Amendment rights were affirmed by the Janus ruling.
This milestone is a clear indicator that labor is changing in Illinois. Public employees are becoming increasingly aware of their rights and are taking meaningful action to reclaim their autonomy, thanks in large measure to the work of the Freedom Foundation.
