At the Freedom Foundation we work hard for every public employee who decides to opt out of union membership and dues. Which is why we’re so appreciative when a union itself makes our job a little easier by committing an unforced error.
Last week, for example, the Freedom Foundation noted the 1,000th member of SEIU 1199NW to sever ties with the union, which claims to represent around 30,000 registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, pharmacists, technicians, professionals, therapists, mental health workers, certified nursing aides, housekeeping and dietary staff and other healthcare workers in Washington state.
And our outreach efforts to the workers undoubtedly played major role in the milestone.
But so, too, did the hubris of 1199NW’s leaders, who earlier this year adopted a boneheaded policy of increasing dues on its highest-paid members.
In fact, the union’s now-infamous “Bright Future” vote to raise dues on members earning higher wages seems to have completely backfired.
The dues increase — absurdly imposed almost exclusively on workers whose monthly dues would have been capped at $115 anyway — cost SEIU 1199NW an estimated $1.3 million in annual revenue in less than six months.
We’d have reached the 1,000-opt out threshold with or without the union’s unforced error, but it’s a lot easier when our adversaries turn out to be their own worst enemies.
