In a 5-4 decision in Janus v. AFSCME, the Supreme Court has struck down the compulsory collecting of public employee union dues from non-members for collective bargaining, ruling that it violates non-members’ First Amendment rights. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas, Kennedy and Gorsuch.
States and public-sector unions may no longer extract agency fees from nonconsenting employees. The First Amendment is violated when money is taken from nonconsenting employees for a public-sector union; employees must choose to support the union before anything is taken from them. Accordingly, neither an agency fee nor any other form of payment to a public-sector union may be deducted from an employee, nor may any other attempt be made to collect such a payment, unless the employee affirmatively consents to pay.
This is a huge blow to the Democratic Party’s union dues collecting machine. And the small remaining rump of #NeverTrump’s mocking cries of “But Gorsuch” ring particularly hollow today.
Tags: AFSCME, Janus v. AFSCME, Samuel Alito, Supreme Court, unions