Local unions upset with top court ruling

POTTSTOWN » The 5-4 Supreme Court decision handed down Wednesday that rules against the ability of public sector unions to require dues of non-members was met with a mixture of defiance and resignation by the borough’s two public section unions.

“The decision today is a momentary triumph for the wealthy special interests that backed this lawsuit,” Beth Yoder, president of the Federation of Pottstown Teachers, said in a press release issued in the wake of the decision.

“But the voices of working people will not go unheard. And unions, such as ours, remain the best way to make sure decision-makers — at work or in the halls of government — are listening,” she said.

The Supreme Court’s decision came in a case named Janus V. AFSCME and it invalidates state laws allowing labor unions to collect fees from everyone in a bargaining unit, including non-members, to pay the costs of bargaining and other representation the union is required to provide.

“We knew this was a possibility,” said Tom Troutman, chairman of AFSCME Unit 2784, which represents Pottstown borough workers.

AFSCME stands for American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees and was the union whose practices

“The decision today is a momentary triumph for the wealthy special interests that backed this lawsuit.” Beth Yoder, president, Federation of Pottstown Teachers

were challenged in the Janus decision.

“All signs were that we would lose this on a five-four vote due to the fact that Mr. (Neil) Gorsuch is a conservative judge,” Troutman said.

Gorsuch was appointed by President Donald Trump on Jan. 31, 2017 to replace Antonin Scalia, who died in February 2016. Pottstown teacher Kelly Leibold agreed. “Our members have followed this case and were well aware — since President Trump’s appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch to the court — that this would be an uphill battle in the Supreme Court. Today’s ruling only conformed that,” she said.

Troutman predicted the Supreme Court decision would not affect the Pottstown local. “We’re a strong union and we work together,” he said, adding he views the dues he pays as “paying for a service that helps negotiate my salary and protects our members.”

“Working people know that the things they want — decent pay, quality healthcare, safe workplaces and fair treatment — are what our union fights for,” said Pottstown High School math teacher Bob Decker, who is also an officer in the teacher’s union. “We’re sticking with our union.”