UNIONS LOSE JANUS (Updated with MLC Chair Harry Nespoli Statement from Chief Leader and NYSUT President Pallotta Statement)

We followed the SCOTUS blog for the Janus decision. It has been issued.

It looks to these non lawyer eyes as a wide ranging ruling against unions. 5-4 decision. Agency fees are unconstitutional. Bad news for sure.

From SCOTUS blog:
Of practical importance, the Court also holds that employees must affirmatively consent before fees can be withheld from their paychecks —the system must be opt-in, not opt-out.



The Janus decision:

From the decision written by Samuel Alito:
States and public-sector unions may no longer extract agency fees from nonconsenting employees. The First Amendment is violated when money is taken from nonconsenting employees for a public-sector union; employees must choose to support the union before anything is taken from them. Accordingly, neither an agency fee nor any other form of payment to a public-sector union may be deducted from an employee, nor may any other attempt be made to collect such a payment, unless the employee affirmatively consents to pay. Pp. 48–49. 

My question is this: Are we all out now or is the card we filled in when we joined the UFT still valid?

From Justice Alito on the free rider problem:
In any event, whatever unwanted burden is imposed by the representation of nonmembers in disciplinary matters can be eliminated “through means significantly less restrictive of associational freedoms” than the imposition of agency fees. Harris, 573 U. S., at ___ (slip op., at 30) (internal quotation marks omitted).  Individual nonmembers could be required to pay for that service or could be denied union representation altogether. Thus, agency fees cannot be sustained on the ground that unions would otherwise be unwilling to represent nonmembers. 

From the Elena Kagan dissent:
So take your pick. Either the majority is exposing government entities across the country to increased First Amendment litigation and liability—and thus preventing them from regulating their workforces as private employers could.  Or else, when actual cases of this kind come around, we will discover that today’s majority has crafted a “unions only” carve-out to our employee-speech law. 

Later on:
There is no sugarcoating today’s opinion.  The majority overthrows a decision entrenched in this Nation’s law— and in its economic life—for over 40 years. As a result, it prevents the American people, acting through their state and local officials, from making important choices about workplace governance. And it does so by weaponizing the First Amendment, in a way that unleashes judges, now and in the future, to intervene in economic and regulatory policy.

The Chief Leader has an article that should be read. 
An excerpt:

Following the release of the 5-4 decision, Municipal Labor Committee Chair Harry Nespoli, speaking for all the municipal unions here, said in a statement, “We have learned from our colleagues in less union-friendly states how to overcome the obstacles placed in our path by right-wing ideologues.”

He continued, “Janus was a wake-up call that well-funded groups are always looking for ways to oppress working men and women. We have heard the call and we will emerge stronger than ever.”

NYSUT President Andy Pallotta reacted too:

We knew this moment was coming.

Wealthy special interests have been fighting for years to undercut unions and roll back the benefits earned by working families. Today’s Supreme Court decision in Janus vs. AFSCME shows how far they are willing to go to attack working families. Anti-union forces think they can seize this opportunity to convince our members to abandon our union in an effort to diminish their voice in the workplace and weaken their strength at the bargaining table.

We are going to prove them wrong.

NYSUT fights to protect the collective bargaining rights that help secure higher wages, quality health care and a secure retirement for our members and their families. They know that strong unions provide our members a voice in the workplace and in the halls of power. 

We have fought long and hard to protect our brothers and sisters in the labor movement, and we are not going to back down now. Our movement is stronger than ever. We are committed to working like never before to encourage every member to stick with our union.

If you haven’t already done so, contact your local president to sign your re-enrollment card.  And I hope you will take a minute to visit www.nysut.org/janus to help fight to preserve our voice, our values and our union. 

This is our moment.  I am confident that, together, we will rise to it.

In solidarity,

Andrew Pallotta
President

Re-enrollment card? Interesting. UFT President Michael Mulgrew put out something that says, "If you are a UFT member, you'll remain a member."

Still not sure what is correct.