Statement from Sen. Steve Glazer on U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision on Union Fees

SACRAMENTO – “The American labor movement has been an important force for securing and protecting the rights of working people.

“The decision of the Supreme Court in Janus v. AFSCME threatens to undermine this movement by allowing employees who decide not to join a union to also avoid paying their share of the cost of the representation the union is required to provide to all employees, regardless of their membership status.

“This will likely create a class of “free riders” – employees who benefit from the union’s activities but pay nothing to support the union’s representation on their behalf.

”Unions representing California’s public employees should be fairly compensated for the services they provide.

“In its ruling in Janus, the Court suggested that unions could avoid the “free rider” problem in part by charging non-members for the cost of representing them in grievance and arbitration case.

“The Legislature should consider allowing these kinds of charges and any others that could be levied within the bounds of the court’s decision.

“Public employees may have the right to decide whether or not to join a union. But they should not be allowed to benefit from the union’s services without paying their fair share for the cost of those services.”

Here is a copy of the 83-page decision: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-1466_2b3j.pdf.