 The executive order forbids government unions from taking mandatory “fair-share”
fees from state employees. Rauner also filed a complaint asking a federal court
to rule on his assessment that forced government union dues violate the First
Amendment.
If the Republican governor’s court case succeeds, it could shield public workers
throughout the country from forcibly paying fair-share fees.
Illinois is one of 23 states where some or all government employees can be
forced to pay a union as a condition of employment. Illinois is also one of the
nation’s most heavily unionized states, with 15.1 percent of all workers
belonging to unions.
us-public-sector-forced-unionism
Nationally, unions take forced dues from more than 250,000 public employees as a
result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1977 Abood v. Detroit Board of Education
decision.
Most government workers in Wisconsin and Michigan can choose whether to pay
unions under laws passed in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Right-to-work bills
that would end forced union dues for public and private-sector workers are under
consideration in New Mexico, Missouri, West Virginia and elsewhere.
Rauner’s arguments against public-sector fair-share fees strongly resemble those
made by the plaintiffs in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a case
already awaiting consideration before the Supreme Court.
F. Vincent Vernuccio, director of labor policy at Michigan’s free-market
Mackinac Center, told Watchdog in an interview this week that Rauner’s moves
reflect a growing sense the Supreme Court may soon abandon Abood.
“This may be adding fuel to the fire of Friedrichs, which could upend
public-sector collective bargaining as we know it,” Vernuccio said.
“It seems to make sense that forcing people to pay political organizations
against their will is a violation of the First Amendment and should be seen as
compelled speech,” he added.
Vernuccio suggested governors in other states could protect public employees
from mandatory union dues by following Rauner’s example, especially if the
ensuing legal battle plays out in Rauner’s favor.
“It would definitely, if he wins, be a new model that strong Republican
governors can use to stop the First Amendment infringement of forced dues for
public-sector workers,” Vernuccio said.
“Look at New Mexico, look at Maryland,” he said. “Anywhere there’s a strong,
principled Republican governor that can’t get these reforms through the
Legislature, they’ll be watching this to see what happens.”
Rauner’s executive order, issued Monday, cited the First Amendment and the
Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Harris v. Quinn.
[to top of second column] |
In Harris v. Quinn, the court ruled Service Employees International
Union could not take mandatory fees from home health workers paid
through Medicaid. Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion described
the Abood precedent allowing forced government union dues as an
“anomaly.”
Rauner asserted in his executive order that “the present facts and
circumstances of Illinois public sector collective bargaining leave
no doubt that the Fair Share Contract Provisions, as permitted by
the Illinois Labor Act, violate Illinois state employees’ freedoms
of speech and association.”
“Illinois state employee unions are using compelled ‘fair share’
fees to fund inherently political activities to influence the
outcome of core public sector issues, such as wages, pensions, and
benefits,” Rauner explained.
State pension systems in Illinois are underfunded to the tune of
more than $130 billion, due in large part to the influence of
government union bosses.
Knowing his executive order would prompt a lawsuit by affiliates of
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and
other powerful unions, the Republican governor filed a federal court
complaint for declaratory judgment Monday.
Roberta Lynch, AFSCME Council 31 executive director, affirmed
Illinois unions will do everything they can to keep workers’
mandatory fair-share fees flowing into their coffers.
“It is crystal clear by this action that the governor’s supposed
concern for balancing the state budget is a paper-thin excuse that
can’t hide his real agenda: Silencing working people and their
unions who stand up for the middle class,” Lynch said in a Monday
statement.
“Our union and all organized labor will stand together with those
who believe in democracy to overturn Bruce Rauner’s illegal action
and restore the integrity of the rule of law,” added Lynch, who was
paid $140,834 as an AFSCME Council 31 deputy director in 2013.
Rauner’s federal court complaint noted, “since Abood, the Supreme
Court has repeatedly acknowledged that compelling a state employee
to financially support a public sector union seriously impinges upon
free speech and association interests protected by the First
Amendment of the United States Constitution.”
“Pursuant to his oath of office under Article XIII, Section 3 of the
Illinois Constitution, and his duty to execute the laws under
Article V, Section 8 of the Illinois Constitution, the Governor
cannot condone this unconstitutional coercion of speech,” the
complaint added.
[This
article courtesy of
Watchdog.]
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