BIG LABOR CAN’T STEAL FROM THOSE WHO AID THE DISABLED
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week that public sector unions cannot collect fees from home health care workers who do not wish to be part of those unions.
The 5-4 decision – issued in the Harris v. Quinn case – rebukes efforts by Illinois politicians to automatically deduct union dues from the paychecks of home health care workers who receive Medicaid funds. Illinois has been deducting these funds for years as part of a collective bargaining agreement with the Service Employee International Union (SEIU).
One home care giver – Pamela Harris – sued the state in response, arguing that these automatic deductions violated her First Amendment rights.
The court agreed …
(For our latest report on the “State of the Unions” in America, click HERE).
While the Harris v. Quinn ruling was good news, it wasn’t everything limited government advocates had hoped for …
“The Court did not take the broader step of overturning a previous decision — Abood v. Detroit Board of Education — that allowed public employee union dues to be deducted from all employee paychecks whether they consented to join the union or not,” Americans for Limited Government (ALG) president Nathan Mehrens said.
And therein lies the real battle …
Nonetheless, Mehrens said he was pleased the Supreme Court struck down this “abhorrent” practice in Illinois – describing the automated deductions as the “state sanctioned theft of taxpayer dollars dedicated to helping offset the costs of caring for those most seriously disabled.”
Like Mehrens, we’re pleased this shameful practice in Illinois has been shut down … however it’s tremendously disappointing the court failed to completely overturn this corrupt practice.
2 comments
Do the overwhelming liberals who frequent this site, agree or not on this decision? It’s mind boggling, to me, that fed/state/local governments engage in giving unions the right to tap into the wages of employees at all. Can you imagine if the US government allowed unions to engaged in this practice re our military forces?
It is the same as saying alarm companies must pay criminals as compensation for their thieving activities benefiting the companies.