Federal employee unions applauded a deadlocked Supreme Court ruling that averted disaster for public-sector collective bargaining.
The case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, centered on whether teachers and government workers were required to contribute fees to the cost of negotiating collective bargaining agreements even if they disagreed with their unions.
The court reached a 4-4 tie on March 29, which affirmed a lower court decision that the fees can be upheld. Had the justices ruled against the unions, it could have had a dramatic impact on public-sector union enrollment.
American Federation of Government Employees President J. David Cox said, in a statement, that the ruling upholds 40 years of Supreme Court precedent, which allows unions to charge fees to charge fees to non-members.
“When the union negotiates a contract for workers, everyone who’s covered by that contract takes home higher pay and benefits, has greater job security, enjoys improved health and safety standards and gets help in settling workplace disputes. It is only fair that all employees share in the cost of securing those benefits,” he said.
“A decision by the Supreme Court to overturn its 1977 ruling would have made it grossly unfair to place the burden of paying for the level of representation that all employees need and deserve on only some public employees as opposed to asking each to pay a fair share.”
National Federation of Federal Employees President William Dougan provided a subdued statement, saying the case and other union issues are under attack but have long histories.
“We are pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision. But, it is not terribly notable since it merely upheld legal precedent that has been in place for decades,” he said.
