Thursday, June 28th, 2018
Stephan: As the United States developed as a technological nation Unions were what kept workers from being reduced to the status of powerless serfs. The people who employed those workers have always hated the power of collective bargaining, and have worked to castrate unions. The Supreme Court is now in play and the recent 5-4 decision concerning Unions shows clearly what the Trumplicans have in mind.
The U.S. Supreme Court Credit: Alex Wong/Newsmakers
The Supreme Court has delivered a potentially crushing blow to public-sector unions, ruling 5-4 today that they cannot collect fees from non-members. The ruling will likely diminish unions’ negotiating power and, with it, their political clout.
Why it matters: The public sector is one of the last bastions of labor’s strength — about 34% of government workers are unionized, compared with just 6.5% of the private sector. But this ruling could shrink those rolls significantly.
The details: The court struck down so-called “agency fees” that unions collect from non-members.
- Those fees can only be used for collective bargaining, not overtly political activity. The rationale is that everyone in a workplace benefits from union negotiations over things like salary and time off, so everyone should contribute.
- But critics say that because these unions are bargaining with the government, their bargaining is inherently political. The Supreme Court agreed with that position today.
Between the lines: The Read the Full Article
The link to the full article has been corrected.