Since the passing of right-to-work legislation in 2012, Michigan's largest teachers union, the Michigan Education Association (MEA), has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep unwilling members in the union, first by extending contracts, then by enforcing a scarcely-publicized "August Window." Members who fail to opt out of the union during the month of August have had their membership dues sent to collections, despite multiple authorities calling the August Window illegal.

The latest effort comes in the form of a small disclaimer at the bottom of MEA's Members Only page:

Effective June 3, 2015 -- For any resignations during  August 2015 and any subsequent resignation timeframes, all resignations of MEA membership must be submitted in writing, signed and dated by the member, and mailed to MEA at P.O. Box 51, East Lansing , MI 48826.

This address change had to be sought out. Some members have contacted the Mackinac Center concerned about whether their resignation letters would be accepted if they sent them to a different post office box number.

Mackinac Center Vice President for Legal Affairs Patrick Wright joined Frank Beckmann to discuss the matter this morning. The full audio of that discussion is available here.

The August Opt Out address change was also featured by the Washington Examiner on August 18, and on Vic McCarty's podcast on August 20. On September 1, the address change was featured on the Daily Caller and the Cato Institute Blog. 

On August 21, Ingrid Jacques published an editorial in The Detroit News titled "MEA keeps trying to block right to work" in which she gave a brief history of MEA member-retention tactics from right-to-work through the address change. The full editorial is available at The Detroit News website.

Any MEA members who have already sent in resignation materials this month are encouraged to send a second letter to: MEA P.O. Box 51, East Lansing, MI 48826.

Those who wish to opt out may find information and materials to do so at https://michiganunionoptout.com.

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