LAS VEGAS — One-third of union households nationally would opt out of union membership if given the chance, according to a new scientific survey released today in Nevada by National Employee Freedom Week.

In Nevada, according to the poll, 31.1 percent would drop union membership if possible to do so without penalty.

National Employee Freedom Week, running from June 23 to 29, is a first-of-its-kind national campaign to educate union members about their legal rights regarding membership and to empower them to make the decision about union membership that’s right for them.

National Employee Freedom Week is the “brainchild of the Nevada Policy Research Institute,” in the words of the Wall Street Journal, and 60 partner organizations — including 11 national groups — in 35 states across the U.S. have joined the national coalition.

The survey released by the coalition shows that 33.4 percent of union households nationally would opt out of their unions if given the chance.

“NPRI created National Employee Freedom Week when we saw the results of our 2012 information campaign letting Clark County teachers know they could opt out of the Clark County Education Association,” explained Victor Joecks, NPRI’s communications director.

“As a result of learning they could leave, over 800 teachers left CCEA last year,” he said. “Nevada is a right-to-work state, so employees who want to leave the union can already do so without penalty. All that was needed was just to let them know when and how they could.

“It then occurred to us: If that many teachers in just one school district, in one smaller state, wanted to leave, how many other workers are in similar positions — wanting out of their unions, but unaware of the freedom they have?

“So that’s why NPRI recently expanded our campaign — letting teachers in every school district in Nevada know they can opt out of their union by submitting written notice from July 1 to 15. And it’s why we contacted other organizations across the U.S. to let them know what we did and what they could do.

“Our aim,” said Joecks, “is to simply lay out the information for union employees and then let them make the decision they believe is best for them.”

The survey confirms, Joecks said, that both in Nevada and nationally a significant portion of union employees would like to drop union membership.

For more information on National Employee Freedom Week, which is spearheaded by the Nevada Policy Research Initiative and the Association of American Educators, please visit http://EmployeeFreedomWeek.com/.

If you would like more details on the survey, please contact Victor Joecks, vj@npri.org. 

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