Unions in California could be lost if the U.S. Supreme Court rules against dues-paying-union members. Ironically, the victims’ best hope in the Court is Justice Antonin Scalia. Often the Court’s leading conservative, but in a 1991 case, Scalia wrote that because public sector unions have a legal duty to represent all employees. It’s reasonable to expect all workers to share the costs. The case before the Supreme Court is Friedrichs v. Wilford and pits the anti-labor, union hating GOP against union groups in an attempt to water down the unions’ power at the bargaining table, and ultimately the political process. The case was brought by California public school teachers, represented by the Center for Individual Rights, who claim their First Amendment rights are being violated paying the union dues, hence unions typically support Democratic candidates, candidates who are more likely to support the workers over the corporations. The goal of backers of this lawsuit is to end the mandatory ...
This blog is a quick read about concerns, whether local or international, facing union and non-union workers.