Unionization case before Supreme Court could have lasting national impact

By Jack Spencer | Michigan Capitol Confidential

The U.S. Supreme Court will hand down a decision by the end of this month that could have significant and lasting effects on organized labor in this country.

In January, when the high court heard oral arguments in the Harris v Quinn case, the justices clearly were considering a ruling that would, in effect, give public employees the freedom to choose whether to pay dues or fees to a union without being worried about being fired.

The case before the court involves Pamela Harris and seven other Illinois personal care providers (home-based caregivers), who challenged a forced unionization that was basically the equivalent of Michigan’s dues skim, which resulted in the SEIU taking more than $34 million from the elderly and disabled in Michigan.

at Michigan Capitol Confidential.