Supreme Court takes up major case on public sector union fees
From Reuters, June 30, 2015
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to take up a case that could weaken public sector unions, a challenge by 10 nonunion public school teachers who say California’s requirement that they pay the equivalent of union dues violates their free speech rights.
The teachers have asked the court to upend a decades-old practice allowing public-sector unions to collect fees from workers who do not want union representation so long as the money is not spent on political activities.
The case comes as some Republican politicians, most notably Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, have taken aim at public and private sector unions, which generally align themselves with Democrats. In 2011, Walker signed a law that limited collective bargaining rights for state workers. Walker, a likely 2016 presidential candidate, then prevailed in a union-backed 2012 recall election.