Oral arguments were heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday on Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. This anti-union lawsuit, backed by the Koch brothers, the Center for Individual Rights and other right-wing interests, is seeking to make all states so-called "Right to Work" states by denying unions the right to collect "agency fees" from public employees who receive union services but do not pay dues.
Go here to read about the case, here for our comment on it, and here for an excellent column by Richard Kahlenberg in The New York Times.
By the way, Right to Work should be renamed RIGHT TO WORK FOR LESS, since that's the reality. To quote an excellent editorial in Monday's Times: "Stronger unions have not only helped ensure that essential public services are more efficient and effective; they have also led to higher wages and better benefits for workers. According to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, public employees in states with fair-share fees enjoy nearly the same compensation as their private-sector counterparts, while those in states that have banned such fees get 9 percent less."
1 comment:
The source links from MTA President Madeloni get to the heart of this matter. She again shows strong leadership at a time all members need to be involved and informed on a seemingly daily basis. Thank you for sharing her message.
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