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Supreme Court to hear dispute over union fees

By Amy R. Connolly
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the rights of public-sector employees are violated when they are compelled to pay dues to a union they don't want to join. The new term starts in October. Photo by Pat Benic/UPI
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the rights of public-sector employees are violated when they are compelled to pay dues to a union they don't want to join. The new term starts in October. Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, June 30 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to consider whether the rights of public-sector employees are violated when they are compelled to pay dues to a union they don't want to join.

Justices will consider the case from a group of California teachers who say being compelled to pay union fees when they disagree with the union's position violates their First Amendment rights. At the heart of matter is a 1977 court precedent that allows unions in California and other states to collect "fair share" fees from all employees, including non-members, but not for union-related political spending.

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"The question of whether teachers and other government employees can be required to subsidize the speech of a union they do not support as a condition of working for their own government is now squarely before the court," Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, said in a statement.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in its next term beginning in October.

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