U.S. Supreme Court makes historic rulings

On June 27, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision about Janus v. AFSCME. The court held that forcing government employees who do not wish to join the union to pay “fair share” union dues violates the First Amendment, and States and public-sector unions may no longer extract fair share fees (agency fees) from non-consenting employees. 

In its ruling, the court struck down Illinois law that requires government workers who choose not to join a union to “pay their proportionate share of the costs of the collective bargaining process, contract administration and pursuing matters affecting wages, hours and other conditions of employment.” 

“Compelling individuals to mouth support for views they find objectionable violates that cardinal constitutional command, and in most contexts, any such effort would be universally condemned,” wrote Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the court’s opinion in the case. 

This decision will likely have far-reaching consequences for public sector union membership in Illinois and throughout the country. 

The Court also struck down a California law that would have required crisis pregnancy centers to inform clients of the availability of state-provided abortions. The majority of justices ruled the law violated free speech rights of these faith-based facilities.