In the grim aftermath of Janus v. AFSCME, discussion has focused on what the decision portends for agency fee agreements in the private sector. Given the cloud of doom that has descended on many of us, it’s not surprising that pessimism abounds. There is thus speculation that Janus will soon be exported to the private sector and that agency fees in this other half of the labor market will al... More »
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone that when faced with a choice between originalism and right-wing ideology, the Supreme Court’s two avowed originalists, Justices Gorsuch and Thomas, decided that they weren’t going to let doctrinal purity get in the way of their desired result. It’s worth taking a close look at how easily Justices Gorsuch and Thomas tossed originalism aside in Janus,... More »
“The day that organized labor has been dreading for several years is finally here,” Sarah Jaffe writes at the Times’ opinion page. Jaffe is one of many arguing that workers and their unions must get back to basics — to old fashioned organizing, to strikes modeled on the recent teacher actions — in order to maintain and build power in Janus’s wake. As one take in the socialist magazine Jacobin pu... More »
Janus is a major blow, but Sharon and I lay out some ideas for moving forward in this Vox piece. More »
In February, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Janus v. AFSCME. Today, a slight majority of the Court issued a decision that regrettably impacts far more than just “fair share” fees and the more than 40-year-old prec... More »
Here’s a very quick summary based on an even quicker read of the Court’s Janus opinion which overrules Abood and holds that agency fees violate the First Amendment. The majority opinion by Justice Alito starts by reasoning that Abood was inconsistent “with standard First Amendment principles.” Here, the Court builds on its reasoning in Knox and Harris (which Justice Kagan’s dissent twice identifi... More »
Recognizing the potential folly in engaging with a Trump tweet, I thought it was worth two quick comments on what the President had to say about Janus. Here’s the tweet: Supreme Court rules in favor of non-union workers who are now, as an example, able to support a candidate of his or her choice without having those who control the Union deciding for them. Big loss for the coffers of the Dem... More »
Janus, the Court’s case about public sector agency fees that will be decided this term, is a case that could be framed in two ways. On the one hand, Janus is a case about compelled political speech: the government, by imposin... More »
A coalition of six organizations committed to eliminating discrimination against LGBT individuals in the workplace filed an amicus brief in support of the respondents in Janus. Miriam Frank—teacher, feminist, and author of Ou... More »