Labor policy analyst: Unions using overblown rhetoric to defend forced union fees for government workers
Watchdog.org cites Trey Kovacs’ on the upcoming Supreme Court decision in the Janus v. AFSCME forced union dues case:
Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Trey Kovacs called that overblown rhetoric.
“They simply don’t want to work hard to provide services that employees want,” Kovacs said. “They’d just rather have the gravy train keep going.”
Kovacs said in most of the country where right-to-work is the law, “union membership hasn’t dried up. They maintain high rates of union memberships.”
Kovacs said if the court sides with Janus, ending forced fees, a workaround is a members-only union policy. Existing law in many states, including Illinois, requires unions to represent all workers in workplaces where they are established, regardless of whether or not that person is a dues-paying member. Unions in many cases advocated for that policy to strengthen their collective bargaining position.
“Don’t force your representation on workers who don’t want it,” Kovacs said. “Let them go negotiate their own contract, seek representation from a professional association or some other group.”
Kovacs said members-only unions are something that unions and supporters of free markets should be able to get behind.
A decision in the Janus vs. AFSCME case is expected this summer.