California's public unions witness record opt-outs in early October

California's public-sector unions witnessed an unprecedented uptick in opt-outs in early October.

A total of 450 government employees chose to opt-out of their unions during the first week of the month, according to the Freedom Foundation. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that public-sector unions could not force non-members to cover agency fees.

The first week of October marked the largest statewide opt-out since that ruling, the Foundation noted. The group attributed the uptick in opt-outs in part to its own pamphlet campaign, which involved sending opt-out forms along with questionnaires on employee satisfaction with union spending.

"We are incredibly encouraged by these continuously growing results out of California, and with the holidays historically being our best performing time of year, we are confident we will be seeing more record-breaking weeks ahead," the Foundation said in a press release.

California's public-sector union rolls have fallen by the tens of thousands since the court ruling.