The Supreme Court of the United States will hear a case about the First Amendment rights of unions to contribute funds to political candidates. The case will be heard on January 10.
Though the case is about Washington state law, the decision of the court will have national ramifications. If the Court rules against unions, it could make it difficult for unions to collect dues form both members and non-members.
If, however, the court issues a ruling on behalf of the unions, it could undermine regulations that ban unions from making contributions to political candidates.
The case is a dispute between the Washington state teachers union (the Washington Education Association) and a group of teachers who are not union members, but are nevertheless required to pay union dues. The non-union teachers claim that the union is using a portion of their collected funds to support political candidates whom the teachers do not support.
A Washington law states that unions can use funds from non-members for political purposes only with the expressed authorization of those non-members. The right to opt out of such arrangements was established by the Supreme Court in 1988. The non-union teachers claim they were never given an opportunity to opt out, and their dues were used without their consent. The union claims that by not stating a preference, the non-union teachers gave their consent.
The court will either rule that unions must receive direct approval from non-union employees before using those dues for political purposes, or it could rule that unions have a First Amendment right to use such dues.
If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the union, it could undermine long-established rules banning direct political contributions from organized labor. That would significantly hurt corporate America and strengthen a growing militancy amongst union officials and organizers.
