Nothing to Fear (Except Maybe Your Union)

May 27, 2026 — Today is national "Nothing to Fear Day." 

If you guessed this has something to do with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, you're correct. On this date in 1941, FDR repeated his famous line during a radio address delivered from the White House.

Here's something else FDR is known for: unionization. He is one of organized labor's greatest heroes, and the New Deal era radically transformed the American union movement.

So it feels fitting to use his words to celebrate employees who decide they aren't going to be intimidated by unions, but stand up to them and win back their independence. 

The Center for Independent Employees (CIE) exists to empower employees to remove unwanted unions. Here is a quick update on how things have gone this past month. 

"Freedom Is No Half-and-Half Affair." - FDR
Earlier this spring, a group of Ohio teacher support staff decided they'd had enough, from the cost of dues to lack of responsiveness from the union. Taking on an established union can be intimidating. They did it anyway.

Emboldened by CIE's legal guidance, 85 percent of the bargaining unit signed a petition to remove the AFSCME-affiliated union. 

Nothing is guaranteed until the actual election, but when we filed their petition, we felt very confident this would be a win. Victory came earlier than we expected.

Faced with that level of rejection, the union chose to walk away rather than face a public defeat. While the election to officially remove the union will happen later this summer, AFSCME won't be on the ballot. As a result, employees will choose between two options: a local association they created or no union at all.

"Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely." - FDR
I appreciate FDR's sentiment that we must be prepared to choose wisely. 

CIE's network of labor attorneys continues to provide wise legal counsel to employees across the country. When the time comes, they will be prepared to make the obvious choice: independence over unions. 

Maybe there is nothing to fear after all—unless you're a union faced with informed employees, ready to vote you out.

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The Center for Independent Employees (CIE) is a 501(c)(3) legal defense foundation that provides legal representation and aid to independent employees who are opposed to union oppression in their workplaces.

CIE provides its services to independent public and private sector employees nationwide and free of charge. But we can’t do it without support from generous partners like you. To partner financially with CIE and empower more teachers to be independent from the radical politics of the NEA, click HERE.

For more information on CIE’s mission, contact Dan Remmenga, Executive Director, at (800) 797-4502 or dan@centerforindependentemployees.org.