Janus v. AFSCME Council 31: How This Decision Affects Workers

Through the decades, corporate special interest groups have been working together to strip away workers’ right to join together and negotiate for fair wages and benefits, and to improve our workplace. These special interest groups want to turn back the clock on achievement like Social Security, civil rights, Medicare, public education, and wage, hour and safety laws that unions—including CWA Local 1170—fight to protect every day.

Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 is a recent Supreme Court case that ruled in favor of corporate special interest groups. The decision was designed to take away the resources and voice of the working people in strong unions that allows them to speak up for themselves, their families and their communities.

The background:

Unions are required by law to represent and negotiate on the behalf of all workers in a bargaining unit, regardless of whether the individuals represented are dues-paying members. In 22 states, government workers can opt out of joining a union. However, it has been required that these non-union members pay a “fair share” fee to cover costs for representing them, excluding union political or lobbying expenses.

Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Council 31 was a landmark United States Supreme Court labor law case challenging the power of labor unions to collect fees from non-union members. In summary, the Supreme Court ruled that non-union member government employees’ First Amendment rights shield them from having to pay fees to a union to cover the costs to represent them.

The impact:

The Janus V. AFSCME Council 31 decision impedes the freedom of working people to join together to improve their workplaces. This decision continues a long campaign by corporate interests and right-wing groups to restrict workers’ ability to join together.

The corporate backers of this case hope to bleed unions and the working people they represent of precious resources, stripping the ability of union to win progress and making it easier to roll back regulations that took decades to pass. While these special interest groups might be celebrating their victory against workers’ freedom, union members, including CWA, will be using this as a rallying cry to fight back harder than ever before.

CWA Strong:

At CWA and CWA Local 1170, we have never depended on any politician or judge to decide our fate, and we are not about to start now. We understand that working people are more resolved than ever to stick together and fight back against attempts to divide us. American workers need unions now more than ever to help restore a democracy and economy fixed in favor of the wealthy and powerful.

CWA members have been preparing to fight back through our CWA Strong campaign. Against adversity, CWA and its members are fighting back and winning on our own terms. For example, workers at Verizon, AT&T Mobility, Frontier Communications and Momentive Performance Materials have gone on strike and won gains through strong collective bargaining. Public worker membership is growing, even in a state like Texas that prohibits collective bargaining for public employees. We are growing our members and maintaining a strong internal organizing structure.

At CWA Local 1170, we will continue to demonstrate that nothing can stand in the way of working people standing together. We will rally our elected officials at the local, state and national level to stand with working people and make it easier for them to join together in unions.