Congressional Democrats mobilized Thursday to combat a Supreme Court decision that restricts unions from collecting fees from public-sector workers who don’t want to join the union. The lawmakers proposed a measure to make it easier for union members in states with weak labor laws to fund labor organizations.
[Supreme Court rules against public unions collecting fees from nonmembers]
On Thursday, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Rep. Matthew Cartwright (D-Pa.) introduced a bill, dubbed the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, to protect the ability of public employees to form, join or assist labor organizations without fear of reprisal.
The federal legislation would give all state and local government employees protections similar to those that private-sector workers enjoy, including the right to voluntarily have union dues deducted from their paychecks. A number of states prohibit automatic payroll deductions for public employees, claiming government resources should not be used to underwrite union agendas.
