Court’s Blow to Labor: Freeing Non-Union Workers
THE ISSUE: The Supreme Court decision that nonunion public employees don’t have to pay union fees.
Hoorah: The Supreme Court made the right decision on union fees (“Blunting Labor’s Edge,” Editorial, June 28).
But why are public-sector jobs that are funded by our tax dollars allowed to be unionized at all
The union bosses end up controlling our elected representatives, and therefore influence the federal, state and local budgets.
Some cities are hit hard financially because of union demands. Sally Schneider Thousand Oaks, Calif.
The ruling in Janus v. AFSCME is not going to hurt organized labor unions as much as it will those who choose not to join.
Granted, those who do not actively join their labor union will save a couple of bucks, but they will really lose in the long run.
They may share in any benefits the union may negotiate for its paying members, but that’s it.
Let’s see what happens when the non-joiners are brought up on disciplinary charges or more serious problems.
They will be required to hire their own legal counsel to defend them, at their own expense.
Lawyers are not cheap. These individuals will lose a lot more in the long run and maybe even their jobs. Kim Cody Whitestone
I take issue with the recent editorial supporting the Supreme Court’s Janus decision. Mark Janus can make the claim that he’d prefer to negotiate for his own wages and benefits as a state worker.
Fine, so the union should be allowed to release him from his (and its) burden.
How far would he get on his own? And if his supervisor starts abusing his rights, let him arrange his own advocacy or counsel.
He wants his freedom, let him have it with spades. I hope he’s good at brown-nosing. Mark Davis Minneapolis, Minn.
Unions have endured existential threats in the past and not merely survived, but flourished and triumphed, though sometimes after traumatic retreats.
The Supreme Court ruling has made a steep new mountain for public unions to climb, and they might break a sweat, but they’ll overcome. Ron Isaac Fresh Meadows