By helping  2,150 California public employees beak free from their union in October, the Freedom Foundation’s outreach operations in the state  broke its own opt-out record — a mark set just a month earlier.

This accomplishment can be best attributed to the In-Home Support Service (IHSS) providers — those earning a stipend from the state to provide home-based care for a low-income elderly or disabled relative — who have gone years without knowing about their right to opt out of the union.

Because California’s legislature has exempted state employees’ contact information from normal public disclosure laws, it’s difficult for the Freedom Foundation to reach the workers to inform them of their First Amendment right decline union membership and dues.

However, through digital advertising we are able to reach a much wider audience without breaking the bank. And we know from experience that when they know they can opt out, they do.

In its 2014 ruling in Harris v. Quinn, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that accepting payment from Medicaid for their services doesn’t mean California’s 500,000 affected caregivers can be considered full-fledged public employees. Rather, they are quasi-public employees who can’t be compelled to participate in their union.

In addition to the digital advertising blitz, the Freedom Foundation had canvassers on the ground working at the UCLA campus for the month. Consequently, the emails and mailers had even more impact.

The Freedom Foundation won’t be deterred from its mission. Our vision has been to leave no stone unturned in informing public-sector employees about their right to opt out.

It may still take years to accomplish, every day we inch closer and closer.