you dont need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows

A state statute in Illinois permitted the union to require that he either pay “agency fees” – compelled dues – or face termination by the employer. In Janus, a public-sector employee decided to withdraw from the union that represented his fellow employees.

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 31, 138 S.Ct. In 2018, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Janus v. The West Virginia Supreme Court simply applied the law and reached the same conclusion as every other appellate court.īut while the final decision surprised no one, the precedent supporting this decision may inform lawyers regarding the courts evolving perspective on the legality of requiring employees to finance unions, or other third parties, as a condition of keeping their jobs. No appellate court in over 70 years has held that a state’s right-to-work law is unconstitutional. All of the justices agreed that as a matter of law, the unions’ arguments do not hold water. However, while the AFL-CIO reached the same conclusion regarding the fact that the decision is not a surprise, it was deeply wrong in casting blame on the allegedly unsympathetic and “corrupt” court. The unions’ argument that their rights to associate, their liberty rights and even the vaunted “free-rider” argument, which claims that a union cannot be required to pay the freight for non-member non-dues-paying employees, were rejected. The court ruled in a meticulous and comprehensive 65-page decision that the law is as constitutional as laws get. In a decision in which all five of West Virginia’s Supreme Court justices concurred, the court put to rest the arguments raised by organized labor for the past four years regarding the constitutionality of the Workplace Freedom Act. CHARLESTON – The forecast for West Virginia’s right-to-work law has now become clear.

You dont need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows