Supreme Court Hears Fiery Arguments In Case That Could Gut Public Sector Unions

[WingNot]

Take those unions down!  Gut them like a fish.

Updated at 12:04 p.m. ET

The Supreme Court heard fiery arguments Monday in a case that could remove a key revenue stream for public sector unions.

A sharply divided court could be poised to overturn a 40-year-old Supreme Court decision that would further undermine an already shrinking union movement.

Attorneys for Mark Janus, a child support specialist for the state of Illinois, argue that people like Janus, who choose not to join a union, shouldn't be compelled to pay partial union fees. The union argues that he should because he benefits from collective bargaining negotiations. The Supreme Court agreed in 1977, but that could change with the new conservative tilt of the court.

https://www.npr.org/2018/02/01/582539884/supreme-court-could-bleed-unions-dry

[truth_seeker]

It is incestuous and corrupt, for public employees to have unions, which "pay" their employers for ever higher wages and benefits.

The arrangement is aimed at achieving one-party rule. Citizens' United is the only opposing force.

[Elderberry]

http://www.scotusblog.com/2018/02/monday-round-up-382/#more-267080




Monday round-up

This morning the court hears oral argument in one of the term’s major cases, Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, in which the justices will consider whether an Illinois law allowing public-sector unions to charge nonmembers for collective-bargaining activities violates the First Amendment. Amy Howe previewed Janus for this blog. Kristina Hurley and Michael Iadevaia preview the case at Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute. Counting to 5 (podcast) offers another advance look at the case. At Reuters, Robert Iafolla and Lawrence Hurley report that “[t]aking away mandatory agency fees could have profound implications for public-sector union coffers.” For The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin reports that although “[a]ttitudes about the value of public-sector unions underlie the case,” “[t]he specific legal question before the court … is more abstract.” Additional coverage comes from Nina Totenberg at NPR, Ariane de Vogue at CNN, and Steven Mazie at The Economist’s Espresso blog. Andrew Hamma and Caitlin Emma at Politico also look at Janus, as do Mary Bottari at In These Times and Rachel Cohen at The Intercept. For The New York Times, Noam Scheiber and Kenneth Vogel report that “[t]he case illustrates the cohesiveness with which conservative philanthropists have taken on the unions in recent decades.” Another look at the donors behind Janus comes from Ed Pilkington at The Guardian.

The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal maintains that a ruling for Mark Janus “wouldn’t be a death blow to government unions, though they might have to prioritize resources and reduce political spending.” At The Nation, David Cole and Amanda Shanor argue that “[t]he First Amendment protects the right to speech, but not the right to get something for nothing.” Additional commentary comes from David Rivkin and Andrew Grossman in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, George Will in an op-ed for The Washington Post, William Gould in an op-ed for The Mercury News, Cory Booker in an op-ed for HuffPost, Kim Glas in an op-ed at The Hill, and Xavier Becerra in an op-ed for the San Diego Union-Tribune, Sean McElwee and Mark Joseph Stern at Slate, and Kenneth Jost at Jost on Justice. [Disclosure: Goldstein & Russell, P.C., whose attorneys contribute to this blog in various capacities, is among the counsel on an amicus brief in support of the respondents in this case.]

The transcript in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31 is available on the Supreme Court’s website. https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2017/16-1466_gebh.pdf