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Union dues and the 1st amendment
January 10, 2007 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
A union defeat is in the air at the US Supreme Court in Davenport v. Washington Education Association.
A public sector union collects money from nonmembers, as required by a collective bargaining agreement backed up by a state statute.
The state statute says the union can spend the money for political purposes only if the nonmember first "affirmatively authorizes" it.
The union wants to spend the money first, subject to a possible refund later on.
The Supreme Court of the State of Washington ruled in favor of the union, saying the statute requiring nonmembers to "opt in" was a violation of free speech.
I have previously said I thought the sate court was wrong. Davenport v. Washington Education Association - Review granted.
Paul Secunda at Workplace Prof Blog has collected some extracts from today's oral argument at the Supreme Court: Analysis of Oral Transcript in Davenport Supreme Court Union Fees Case. He concludes that there are no more than two Justices who might vote in favor of the union.
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