Columbus, OH – Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME, The Buckeye Institute launched its Workers Choose campaign, which gives public employees in Ohio the tools they need to express their newly-recognized First Amendment rights.

“In Janus v. AFSCME, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public-sector workers can no longer be forced to pay for political speech without their affirmative consent,” said Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute. “For public-sector employees who seek to exercise their First Amendment rights and withdraw from their government union, WorkersChoose.org will allow them to initiate the process online in three easy steps. For those workers who are happy to continue supporting their government unions, they also have the First Amendment right to maintain their membership in them. The Janus decision is a win for all of our public workers, who are now respected and have a right to choose—and those choices must be honored. I’m not sure how anyone could be opposed to letting workers decide for themselves.”

To initiate the process of withdrawing from their government union, visitors to WorkersChoose.org will:

• Be asked to provide their name and email address;
• Find and select the county in which they work from a dropdown menu;
• Choose their employer from a dropdown menu; and
• Identify their government union in a dropdown menu.

Instructions will then appear that outline the opt-out process for that union and, when known, the specified timeframe or opt-out window. A completed notification letter, unique for each user, will be available for download and submission, as will union and employer contact information. Workers will simply need to download the letter and either email or send a hard copy to the listed contacts as instructed. If workers are required to email or send their notification letter at a future date, visitors have the option of signing up to receive an email notification when their opt-out window opens.

For public employees who have questions, there is a toll-free number, 1-855-e-Choose, and an email address, WorkersChoose@BuckeyeInstitute.org, that they can use for further assistance.

“If you are one of Ohio’s hardworking teachers or other public-sector employees who prefer not to financially support or participate in your government union, WorkersChoose.org will allow you to begin the notification process today,” said Alt.

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