In Washington state, as well as in Pennsylvania, teachers unions may negotiate contracts that require nonmembers to pay agency shop fees in lieu of dues.
No fees, no work. It's as simple as that, and you're not a real citizen unless you wear the union label. This occurs in states without right-to-work laws.
Labor unions do more than bargain for their members and nonmembers. They engage in political activity.
In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that nonmembers paying agency fees could opt out by asking for a refund.
But voters in Washington state, bless their hearts, went a step further in 1992. The union then needed nonmembers' explicit permission to use agency fees for political activity.
You see why the union would be unhappy. The Washington Supreme Court ruled the voter-approved law an unconstitutional infringement on the unions' rights. That's right. The unions' rights.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case and frankly it's as easy as apple pie. No union has any right to speak for a nonmember on matters political unless it has his affirmative permission. Otherwise, it's an infringement on the individual's rights -- an individual who has already chosen, probably with trepidation, not to join the union.
We shall see how well the U.S. Supreme Court deals with the tyrants who run labor organizations.
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