The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that could diminish the power of labor unions to collect fees from workers they represent, it announced June 30. The case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, will be heard in the next term, which begins in October, and a ruling could come early next summer.
The petitioners—a group of California Teachers who objected to paying union dues on the grounds that being required to do so violated their First Amendment rights—are seeking to overturn the Court’s 1977 ruling in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education that protected public-sector “fair-share” fees. Their backers argue a “multi-hundred-million-dollar regime of compelled political speech” infringes upon their First Amendment rights because, they say, all union activities should be considered inherently political.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you have an active digital subscription, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password, if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
If you are a current print-only subscriber, and want access to our website,click here to view your options for changing you subscription level.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |