Educators can join thousands of their colleagues and opt out of union membership — and retain all benefits provided in their contract.
Teachers have a choice this August: They can opt out of union membership and keep all of their employer-provided benefits.
In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that government workers cannot be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment. That meant government workers could opt out of union membership and stop paying dues or fees to the union.
The ruling also means workers will not lose any benefits if they choose to leave union membership.
Brian Harty has been a teacher in the Rockford area for more than 25 years. When a union executive board member told him how his union dues were being spent, he had questions.
“That is when I began to see just how little the union had to do with the students and how much it had to do with politics,” Harty said.
“During my time on the [union’s negotiating] committee, I learned that nearly 70% of my union dues were going to political activists — told to me directly by a member of the executive board — and had nothing to do with education in the classroom or anything at all to do with teaching.”
Harty isn’t the only public school employee in Illinois to question his union — and take action. Since 2017, thousands of teachers have rejected union membership. In the Illinois Federation of Teachers alone, at least 15,600 education employees have chosen not to associate with the union.
This August, more teachers and other public school employees can choose to opt out of their unions and stop paying dues. And they can rest easy knowing they won’t lose any benefits if they choose to do so.
Common questions about opting out of the union
Do I have to be a member of the union to keep my job or benefits?
No. You are guaranteed any benefits provided in the collective bargaining agreement with your employer such as salary, raises, health insurance, seniority and vacation days, among other things.
Your employer can’t treat nonmembers differently than union members.
What about liability insurance and job protection coverage?
Teachers can get liability insurance for legal protections elsewhere at little or no cost. Educators can join other groups, such as the Association of American Educators or the Teacher Freedom Alliance. The alliance is donor-funded and free to teachers.
Why would I want to opt out of the union?
Teachers can opt out for many reasons and don’t have to tell the union why.
Some people think the union doesn’t represent them well or spends too little on worker representation. In 2025, just 28% of the Illinois Federation of Teachers’ spending was on representing members. Only 17% of the Illinois Education Association’s spending was on representation.
Many people think their teachers unions spend too much on politics.
Additionally, dues can cost hundreds of dollars a year, and that extra money can go a long way in your pocketbooks.
You are not alone: Join other public school employees who left their union
“My local union tried to tell me there were no other alternatives, and I wouldn’t have any legal protection if I opted out,” said Derrick Crenshaw, a teacher for more than 30 years in Glen Ellyn, a western suburb of Chicago.
“But I did my research and found the Association of American Educators, which provides professional education liability insurance and is non-partisan.”
Public school employees have options outside traditional union membership. Now is the time to make that choice. Teachers unions typically limit when members can leave the union to an August timeframe to have dues stopped.
Visit LeaveIFT.com or LeaveIEA.com if you have any other questions or want to learn more.
