One year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 40-year precedent by forbidding public-sector unions from collecting dues from nonmembers. Leading up to the Janus v. AFSCME decision, union leaders openly feared a crippling loss of members and revenue once public employees were financially free to do as they please.
We now know those dire predictions were premature, at the very least, especially when it comes to teachers. Teacher unions have experienced some turnover, but union members did not crowd the exit door. In fact, one recent news article stated that the National Education Association is reporting a slight increase in membership.
A new national poll from the Teacher Freedom project sheds light on why these losses were lower than unions feared — and it is not what union leaders are likely to acknowledge. Despite the fact that many teachers have remained in the union, leaders should still be greatly concerned. The “One Year After Janus” survey was conducted by YouGov, sampling 1,003 U.S. teachers.