6.27.18 – (LAA/LUS) – Press Release – Supreme Court Rules 5-4 Against State & Public Sector Unions in Janus Case
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Peter Goelz
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) Says JANUS Ruling is a Devastating Blow to Organized Labor It’s More Important than Ever to Push Back Against the Anti-Union Movement
Washington D.C. – Today, as expected, the Supreme Court delivered its 5-4 ruling in the Janus V. AFSCME case. Trump appointee Justice Neil Gorsuch cast the deciding vote. This case has made national headlines challenging the practice of public sector unions charging agency fees to employees who decline to join the union, but who still benefit from the deals it collectively bargains.
Twenty-eight states have “right to work” laws banning agency fees across the board. These laws can create a problem for unions because it creates “free-riders”, who are people who do not pay union or agency fees but get the benefits that the Unions have secured.
Public sector Unions, by contrast, viewed the practice of collecting “agency fees” as necessary and valid as their costs of representation was benefiting all members—saying that all who benefited should share the costs.
It should be noted that the Janus Ruling does not affect APFA. We are a private sector Union, and our membership and collective bargaining rules remain fully in place. However, the potential threat to private sector Unions is whether the anti-Union movement will now try to employ similar legal arguments to get “agency fees” banned in the private sector as well.