In 1977's Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that public-employee unions can charge this fee. So for decades this has been considered to be "settled law."
But now the Supreme Court has a majority of members who made their way to the court with corporate-funded conservative backing. So the court is systematically reversing older "settled" cases that affect corporations, workers rights, and other elements of conservative ideology like voting rights and womens' rights.
This time the conservatives on the Court are reconsidering the unanimously and four-decade-settled Abood decision. The case the Court is using to accomplish this is Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. The court is going to decide if non-union public employees will still be required to pay for the services unions required by law to provide them. All bets are that it will be another 5-4 decisions in favor of the corporate-conservative position.
The "Free Speech" Argument
The argument being used this time is that making people pay for services they receive, even when those services are required by law, violates their "freedom of speech." This is said to be about "speech" because unions represent working people, enabling them to band together and collectively bargain, and thereby confront those with concentrated wealth and power on a more level playing field. Therefore, by their very nature, unions are engaging in "political activity," and making people pay for the services unions provide is "unconstitutionally compelled political speech."
In other words, because unions engage in the activity of fighting for better wages, rights, and protection, therefore the "rights" of those who would deny people those things are put at risk if unions are funded. Assisting unions in this mission by paying this fee thereby violates the free speech of those who support concentrated wealth and power.
We The People vs Concentrated Wealth And Power
The current majority of the Supreme Court was brought to its position with funding and backing of those on that other side -- corporate-funded conservatives. These are the "people" whose "free speech rights" the Court says are being violated if unions receive funds enabling them to represent working people. These corporations are also the "people" who the Court ruled are allowed to put unlimited money into our elections because of "free speech."
The Supreme Court repeatedly takes the position that anything that protects working people and regular citizens from concentrated wealth and power is by its very nature "political advocacy" and therefore violates the "free speech" of those few with concentrated wealth and power.
But the United States of America was founded by We the People -- all of us "created equal" --with the purpose of banding together to protect ourselves and secure our liberty fromconcentrated wealth and power. This Supreme Court is consistently issuing 5-4 rulings that go against the very reasons our country was founded and our Constitution was written.
As the Supreme Court hears this case on Monday, that day will mark the beginning of a week of action to ensure that the public is aware of what's at stake: the ability of workers to stand up for themselves and for the people they serve. Please visit America Works Together -- a coalition of working people and their allies, working people like teachers, nurses, firefighters, and other public service workers who are passionate about our work, and learn more about what you can do during the week of action.
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