High court ruling a blow to unions

Justices overturn ’77 decision allowing ‘ fair share’ fees

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court dealt labor unions a sharp defeat Wednesday, ruling that teachers, police officers and other public employees cannot be forced to pay dues or fees to support their unions.

In a 5-4 vote, the justices overturned a 41-year-old precedent and ruled that the First Amendment protects these employees from being required to support a private group whose views may differ from theirs.

The decision, in Janus v. AFSCME, strikes down laws in California, New York and 20 other mostly Democratic-leaning states that authorize unions to negotiate contracts that require all employees to pay a so-called fair share fee to cover the cost of collective bargaining.

In 1977, when public sector unions were getting established, the Supreme Court said public employees may not be forced to pay full union dues if some of the money went for political contributions. But the justices upheld the lesser fair share fees on the theory that all employees benefited from a union contract.

But today’s more conservative court said employees have a right not to give any support to a union. These payments were described as a form of “compelled speech,” which violates the First Amendment.

“We conclude that this arrangement violates the free speech rights of nonmembers by compelling them to subsidize private speech on matters of substantial public concern,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority.

He said powerful public sector unions have led to huge budget problems in Illinois and other states, as well as costly public employee pensions that are badly underfunded.

He also rejected the notion that employees who do not support the union are “free riders.” Rather, they are “captives” on a trip they do not want to take, Alito said.

Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch agreed. All four liberal justices dissented.

In dissent, Justice Elena Kagan accused her colleagues on the right of conservative activism. “The majority overthrows a decision entrenched in both this nation’s law and its economic life,” she said. “And it does so by weaponizing the First Amendment, in a way that unleashes judges … to intervene in economic and regulatory policy.”

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor agreed.

The anti-union National Right to Work Foundation, which funded the challenge, said the ruling fr5 million public employees from supporting unions.