Unions and the court

The Supreme Court is about to rule on a case that will have a profound effect on public unions like the teachers union. In the upcoming case of Janus v public unions the concept of right to work is at stake. If Janus wins, individuals will have the right to refuse paying union dues. It basically means an end to forced union membership. This happened in Wisconsin 7 years ago and since that time more than half of the teachers dropped out of the union. A similar vote came up a couple of years ago but Judge Scalia died suddenly and the court ruled 4 to 4 and the union won. With the new judge Gorsuch expected to side against the union the law will change. Many people feel that the importance of a presidential election is not just the new president but who may be appointed to the court. Membership in the Wisconsin Education Association Council is down 58 percent since the 2011 enactment of Act 10, which ended collective bargaining over benefits for public employees, including teachers unions, according to the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy. “Before the passage of Act 10, WEAC had almost 100,000 members. Today, the union stands at just 36,000.