He Tried to Quit His Union. The Law Didn’t Let Him, and He Lost His Government Job Instead.
Francisco Molina, a social worker for more than 12 years in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, grew dissatisfied with his government employee union and tried to resign from it last summer rather than continue to pay dues. State law wouldn’t let him leave the union, and taking a stand cost him his job.
Although he used to be a shop steward for Service Employees International Union Local 668 and lobbied on the union’s behalf in both Harrisburg and Washington, Molina says, he had decided to break with the SEIU in response to actions he viewed as hostile to free speech rights.
Molina, who was a social services aide in the Lehigh County Office of Children and Youth Services, says he also discovered that fellow union leaders did not provide rank-and-file members with accurate information.
“When I joined the union, I didn’t agree with their principles or values,” Molina, 52, told The Daily Signal in an interview. “But I wanted to make a difference with myself and my co-workers, and I felt that if I got involved, I could make some changes from within as a shop steward.”
“But my personal values never matched the union’s,” Molina said. “The further I got up the chain …read more