Reich writes: "A tie vote in the Supreme Court gave public-employee labor unions a huge victory - allowing the lower court ruling in 'Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association' to stand, and thereby enabling public-employee unions to continue to collect 'fair share' fees covering collective bargaining costs from workers who aren't union members."
Robert Reich. (photo: Getty)
30 March 16
oday’s tie vote in the Supreme Court gave public-employee labor unions a huge victory – allowing the lower court ruling in “Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association” to stand, and thereby enabling public-employee unions to continue to collect “fair share” fees covering collective bargaining costs from workers who aren’t union members.
The irony is that before Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, Republicans had counted on winning the case by a 5-4 vote, and then using it to kill off public sector labor unions. Then they planned to use the “Friedrichs” case to judicially attack private-sector unions that collect such fees. It was a carefully-crafted strategy to get rid of labor unions altogether.
But Mitch McConnell’s refusal to allow a vote on Merrick Garland has meant a deadlocked Supreme Court. And a deadlocked Court can’t overrule lower courts. McConnell has been hoisted on his own petard.
What do you think?
