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For public employees · Free · Private to this device
Resign from your union. Keep your paycheck — and your First Amendment rights.
Janus v. AFSCME made every state and local government job a right-to-work job. National Right to Work attorney William L. Messenger argued that case at the U.S. Supreme Court — and won. Use the letters below. Sign. Send. Watch the dues stop.
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Janus v. AFSCME
Argued February 26, 2018 · Decided June 27, 2018
The one sentence you need to know
“No public employee can be forced to pay any money to a union as a condition of employment.”
Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31, 585 U.S. 878 (2018)
How it works
Three steps. Then the deductions stop.
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Sign and send
Download both letters — one to the union, one to payroll. Mail them certified, return receipt requested. Keep a copy.
03
Dues and fees stop
Watch your next paycheck. If money is still taken, call the Foundation. Help is free.
The lawyer who won it
William L. Messenger argued Janus at the Supreme Court.
On February 26, 2018, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation attorney William L. Messenger stood at the lectern of the United States Supreme Court and told the justices a simple truth: in the public sector, bargaining over wages, pensions, and working conditions is speech about public policy. Forcing a teacher, a nurse, or a child-support specialist to fund that speech is a First Amendment violation — not a workplace technicality.
On June 27, 2018, the Court agreed, 5–4. Justice Alito’s opinion overturned Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977) and held that governments may not deduct agency fees without a worker’s affirmative consent. Mark Janus, an Illinois child-support specialist, walked out of those marble chambers having restored that choice to millions of public servants.
- Argued
- February 26, 2018
- Decided
- June 27, 2018
- Vote
- 5–4, Justice Alito
- Counsel
- William L. Messenger
“Neither an agency fee nor any other payment to the union may be deducted from a nonmember’s wages, nor may any other attempt be made to collect such a payment, unless the employee affirmatively consents to pay.”
Janus, 585 U.S. at 930 (Alito, J.)
Since Janus
1.2M+
public employees have stopped paying dues or fees
Public payroll and union filing analyses, five years on
$1,200+
average annual savings for teachers who opt out
Commonwealth Foundation, 2024
850k+
workers counted by the Freedom Foundation as having stopped dues
Freedom Foundation, 2024
Who this is for
If you work for a state, city, county, or public school, Janus is yours.
Janus covers state and local public employees in every state — teachers, firefighters, nurses, clerks, transportation workers, and more. You cannot be fired for refusing to pay. You do not have to join. Membership is opt-in.
Private-sector employees are not covered by Janus. Forced fees there still depend on whether your state has a Right to Work law. Federal employees already had similar protections. If that is you, the Foundation can still help — start at Free Help.
The work after the win
Unions still try to keep the money flowing. The Foundation is still in court.
Chicago 911 operators notch another Janus victory over IBEW
Operators who said no to forced fees won again when the union kept taking money after Janus.
Puerto Rico public workers defend the right to stop dues
Foundation attorneys argued in federal court that public workers there have the same First Amendment protection.
Everett employee challenges AFSCME paycheck seizures
A City of Everett worker took AFSCME and the city to the labor board over unconstitutional deductions.
Attorneys stopped a cycle that kept illegal dues flowing for months
Some employers and unions stall. Foundation lawyers have cut those delays off.
If they ignore your letter, you are not on your own.
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation provides free legal aid to workers fighting compulsory unionism. Call 800-336-3600 or request help online. There is no charge.