It’s no secret unions claim to exist to benefit workers for wages, hours, and working conditions. But what happens when they fail to meet those goals?

What happens when unions focus their energies on other agendas and violate their own members’ rights and First Amendment expressions?

This is a short story about a case of a union failing its members, then literally stealing their paydays.

It all started with a phone call from a bus driver we’ll call Jack, who wanted to express his unhappiness with his union. He complained about how few hours he was working, yet having to be on call for so many hours, he couldn’t find another job to supplement his income.

While Jack made it clear he was not anti-union, he didn’t believe his union was representing him.

Consequently, he wanted to opt-out.

Jack wasn’t just mildly frustrated with the job his union was doing representing bus drivers; he was irate and believed they were worthless at best and, at worst, detrimental to his career.

Jack asked for materials to help inform his co-workers about their rights to opt-out.

The Freedom Foundation provided Jack the requested information, and a week later, he emailed pictures and a story.

Jack created a billboard with information and set it up at his workplace — along with Payday candy bars that had our Opt-Out Today business cards taped to each one. Jack’s slogan was “get your pay day, opt-out today.”

Predictably, someone took the display down. And by the next day, the union held a recruiting event at Jack’s workplace.

And wouldn’t you know it, the 84 candy bars Jack had taped cards to were arrayed on the tables at the union’s event.

Minus the opt-out message.

The union appears to have literally stolen the gifts of PayDay candy bars with information about getting a larger paycheck to bribe people to join the union and receive a smaller paycheck.

SPE/SEIU 1948 union leadership was looking to give away stolen candy in hopes of giving themselves a raise.