Washington worker fighting to leave state's largest union

(The Center Square) - A Washington state worker trying to opt out of her union, had to get help from a national organization for advice on standing up to leadership.

The worker, represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE), demanded her freedom from the union back in April, but was told she was required to continue paying dues until her next “opt-out window” opened in October 2025.

Frustrated and confused, the employee reached out to the Freedom Foundation, which has been helping employees across the nation opt-out of their unions since the 2018 Janus decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Janus decision struck down state laws requiring union-represented public employees to pay dues or fees as unconstitutional under the First Amendment, allowing employees to make their own decisions about whether to join and financially support a union, which they may not agree with politically.

“The employee contacted me and said she was told she couldn’t opt out until 2025, and I’m like, 'no!'” said Erin Volz, policy associate with the Freedom Foundation in an interview with The Center Square.

“I knew for a fact it was going to be October of this year,” said Volz. “You have to get these employees to ask a lot of questions, because more often than not, the union isn’t forthcoming, especially since they are losing money.”

According to the Freedom Foundation, in the first year after the 2018 Janus ruling, WFSE lost thousands of members, amounting to a 27.4% decline in financial supporters. According to federal filings, WFSE collected dues or fees from 43,290 state workers in June 2018. A year later, only 31,447 employees supported the union financially.

“Last year WFSE lost about 700 members directly through our efforts and this year they are already close to that number, so they’re going to lose even more this year,” said Volz who explained the loss of 700 members translates into roughly $700,000 in lost revenue, and with wages rising, that hit could be even bigger.

Volz says the max monthly dues amount for a WFSE employee is $107.84 or $1,294.08/year.

WFSE did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Upon encouragement and advice from Volz, the employee contacted the right union officials, who confirmed that her real opt-out date was this October, just two months away.

“It could be the union just misspoke or mistyped something, but a little mistake like that can cost the employee a lot of money,” said Volz.

Volz encourages all union members who may be considering an opt-out , to get a copy of their union membership card and check the date it was signed, as that date will coincide with the annual opportunity to get out of the union.

“It’s incredibly difficult for people to figure it out and if they miss it, they are stuck for another year,” she said.

Volz says they are right now in the final campaign of reaching out to Washington teachers who may be wanting to get out of the Washington Education Association, with a final decision by Sept. 1.

“Last year WEA lost nearly 500 members and getting them to opt out is pulling teeth,” said Volz. “They are super afraid to opt out because they get mercilessly bullied by the union and coworkers that are very unionized.”

“They get bullied to a point where it’s uncomfortable,” she said.

The Center Square did reach out to WEA for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.