Not surprisingly, few modern workers believe the benefits of union membership are worth the dues charged for them. In 2020, in fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the aggregate number of union members in this country decreased by 321,000 from the previous year…

Arguably, the only reason unions remain viable at all is because of government employment at the state, county, and local level, where union membership and dues were still mandatory in many states until the U.S. Supreme Court struck down such requirements three years ago in Janus v. AFSCME.

Currently, 34.8% of the nation’s public workers are still unionized, and the unions argue they remain in the fold because they’re happy. But there’s no reason to believe government employees are any more eager than their private-sector peers to surrender a sizable portion of their salary every year to a powerful special interest that uses it to line the pockets of liberal political candidates and causes on their behalf.