What Does Harris Mean for New Jersey?
Jun. 30 Big Labor, U.S. Supreme Court
By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
Many New Jersey owners of closely-held businesses are breathing a sigh of relief after today’s “Hobby Lobby” decision, Save Jerseyans. Another decision, however, had the potential to generate vastly greater consequences for Garden State taxpayers.
Did it? Yes and no.
You can read the Harris v. Quinn opinion here. Both of Monday’s big U.S. Supreme Court decisions were authored by Justice Samuel Alito, one of the Court’s reliable conservative votes.
The super short version (I’ve only had a chance to skim the opinion, and I make no pretense of being a constitutional expert)….
The Roberts Court stopped far short of overturning Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, a 1977 decision wherein SCOTUS ruled that public employees needed to support the core bargaining activities of the union that represented them collectively by paying dues regardless of an individual’s membership status preference.
In this particular case, the Plaintiff was a mother serving as a home care giver for her son and being paid by Medicaid to do so. Hence, she wasn’t truly a “public employee” despite the fact that her son’s care was publicly funded. Illinois and the SEIU were nevertheless trying to make her pay dues like any other home nurses under the applicable federal program.
Ghoulish, yes, and also a position indicative of the union’s prevailing desire to hold onto power by way of their precious union dues.
– See more at: https://savejersey.com/2014/06/harris-supreme-court-union-dues/#sthash.xtak0WPp.dpuf