Page 19 - 2018 July Newsletter

of unions, while only two out of ten people expressed an unfa- vorable one. Not surprising, among Republicans, fewer than half (44 percent) say they have a favorable opinion of labor unions.
In the decision, written by Justice Samuel Alito, the court found that requiring Mark Janus to pay $45 per month to his ex- clusive bargaining representative (the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 31) violated his First Amendment rights and was unconstitutional. The majority went on to hold that four decades of precedence under Abood should now be overturned because, according to these five jus- tices, requiring mandatory fair-share payments of non-members violates their right to free speech. In essence, this majority did not agree with the reasoning expounded by the Abood court. The majority agreed with Janus that the fees amount to compelled speech, requiring him (and others) to subsidize political views he did not support. Because unions play a powerful civic and po- litical role when negotiating contracts, such work is inseparable from a union’s other political or ideological activities. It is im- portant to note how rare it is for the Supreme Court to overturn decades’ old precedence.
Writing for the minority, Justice Elena Kagan took her col- leagues to task, as she opined:
“Today, the Court succeeds in its 6-year campaign to re- verse Abood. Its decision will have large-scale consequences. Public employee unions will lose a secure source of finan- cial support. State and local governments that thought fair- share provisions furthered their interests will need to find new ways of managing their workforce. Across the country, the relationships of public employees and employers will al- ter in both predictable and wholly unexpected ways.”
In the end, labor will persevere. It always has. Lodge 7’s com- mitment to its members will also never waiver, regardless of any court ruling. d
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CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JULY 2018 19