For Immediate Release
Contact Michael Schaus, 702-222-0642
LAS VEGAS — With the two week window allowing for Nevada teachers to opt out of union membership quickly approaching, the Nevada Policy Research Institute is preparing to launch a social media campaign to inform educators and support staff of their options.
“The teachers union has done its best to make opting out of union membership as difficult as can be,” said Nevada Policy Research Institute Communication Director Michael Schaus.
“Giving teachers a mere two weeks — in the middle of summer vacation no less — is hardly what someone would call accommodating.”
In order to opt out of their unions, teachers must do so during a two week period in the middle of summer. In most cases, if teachers do not submit an opt-out letter to their union or district between July 1st and July 15th, they will be forced to keep paying dues until next year’s opt-out window.
“At the end of the day, many teachers may prefer to stay in the union, and they have the right to do so,” said Schaus. “But not every teacher feels like they’re actually getting the value they deserve from membership. In the end, unions aren’t the only resource for teachers — and they certainly aren’t always the best.”
Clark County teachers, for example, pay as much as $800 per year for union benefits — benefits that are often inferior to the benefits offered by alternative, non-partisan educator associations such as the American Association of Educators.
Schaus says that there are many teachers who are thankful for NPRI’s campaign to let teachers know they have a choice about union membership. Since NPRI began its annual campaign in 2011 to remind teachers of their right to leave the union, more than 5,000 teachers have chosen to do so.
“The bottom line is, Nevada is a state that allows workers to choose for themselves whether or not they want to be a part of the union,” said Schaus.
“The only caveat is that teachers need to know how to do so — and let’s face it, the unions aren’t in a hurry to get that information to their members.”
Click here to download opt-out letters.
###
