Fox News is reporting the Supreme Court this morning announced a decision against forced payments to unions representing government workers. These are the so-called “fair share” fees demanded of workers who choose not to belong to the union representing them.
It’s a hat trick. Together with the decisions for the travel ban and against abortion advertising, conservatives get three wins in a row.
Some background: Janus, a government worker in Illinois, was required to pay fees to a union which represented him and all others who worked there even though he was opposed to the political views pushed by the union and chose not to be a member of the union. He sued, alleging his constitutional rights were violated thereby.
I know this position well, I lived it as a professor in the California State University system. We were represented by a union against which I had voted, and to which I chose not to belong. It was unremittingly Democratic, and I’m whatever the opposite of that is. I nevertheless had to pay “representation” fees to that union in lieu of dues. No choice.
The court ruled in favor of plaintiff Janus who didn’t want to subsidize the union’s political activities which were opposed to his own beliefs. Government workers will now have a choice and, I predict, many will choose not to belong to the union which represents their unit, thus saving them $$ and depriving public employee unions of power.
Although it came several years too late to help me, I nevertheless view this decision as a personal victory. I always felt the “fair share” fees I paid were a violation of my First Amendment rights, in effect coerced ‘speech’ with which I did not agree but was forced to subsidize.
This decision will weaken public employee union power and Democratic dominance in places like CA and NY. It would be hard to overstate its importance.
