The Supreme Court Appears Set To Issue Crippling Blow To Public Employee Unions

[applegrove]

The Supreme Court Appears Set To Issue Crippling Blow To Public Employee Unions

by Cristian Farias at the Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/supreme-court-public-unions_5693ed2ee4b0a2b6fb70e579

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WASHINGTON -- A conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court gave every indication on Monday that it is ready and willing to invalidate public unions' right to collect what are known as "fair-share" or agency fees, on the grounds that the mandatory collection violates the free-speech rights of nonunion workers.

A key 1977 ruling had upheld the fees -- which go to the general maintenance of union contracts -- under the First Amendment, but the justices reviewing their validity in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association seem prepared to turn the page and view them through a stricter lens.

"The problem that's before us is whether or not individuals can be compelled to support political views that they disagree with," said Chief Justice John Roberts, seemingly endorsing the argument that even fees that go to a union's collective bargaining efforts -- which cover every worker, even those who aren't union members -- can impinge on the right to free speech.

Michael Carvin, the lawyer representing the group of California public school teachers challenging the fees, argued repeatedly that such financial contributions "coerce the employee to subsidize" politics he or she doesn't support and goes beyond the core function of supporting collective bargaining for better salaries and other benefits.


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[randys1]

1. GOP hates working people. This we know

Say goodbye to unions

[Goblinmonger]

2. As a teacher in Wisconsin

unions for teachers a dead here. Sucks.