Springfield, VA (November 14, 2013) – The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a charitable organization that provides free legal assistance to employees nationwide, has launched a multimedia advertising campaign to inform Illinois public school teachers of their rights to refrain from union membership and the payment of full union dues.

“Employee rights have been in the news since the tumultuous but ultimately successful efforts to reform labor law in neighboring Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “We’d like to capitalize on that momentum by informing Illinois educators of their rights to opt out of paying for union politics.”

Illinois is one of 26 states that lack Right to Work laws, which means employees – including public school teachers – can be forced to pay union dues or fees just to get or keep a job. However, under Supreme Court precedents won by National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, employees cannot be lawfully forced to pay for union activities unrelated to workplace bargaining, such as union political activism.

All employees also have the right to resign their union membership at any time.

“Unfortunately, many Illinois public school teachers are simply unaware of their rights to leave a union and stop paying for union politics,” continued Mix. “We hope to address that problem by educating as many teachers as possible about their workplace rights.”

Radio ads will direct Illinois educators to TeacherRefund.com, a website that provides legal information about teachers’ rights to resign from a union and opt out of dues for union politics.

“No teacher should be forced to pay for political causes he or she disagrees with, which is why these educational campaigns are so vital,” said Mix. “Our team of experienced staff attorneys is standing by to help Illinois public school teachers assert their workplace rights.”

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in more than 250 cases nationwide per year.