Gorsuch poised to decide fate of union case before SCOTUS.

Neil M. Gorsuch may well be the deciding vote on a critical union rights case to be decided before the United States Supreme Court this term. In the case of Janus v. AFSCME a decision is expected in June. It is typical of SCOTUS to release the major case decisions at the end of their current year term.

The case of Janus v. AFSCME deals with union fees, termed agency fees or fair share fees, which are collected under work contracts in unionized shops designed to reimburse the union for the cost of services that result in providing benefit to non-union workers, due to the actions of the union taken on behalf of union members.

Under law, unions are required to collectively bargain on behalf of every worker in a unionized shop, once the union becomes the exclusive representative for that workplace regardless of whether all workers employed are union members or …show more content…
The NCS, National Compensation Survey with data derived from the ECEC, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, found on average unionized workers are paid nearly $4 more per hour than non-union workers in the same field.

The problem with collectively bargaining on behalf of every worker is that workers who benefit from employment in a unionized shop but who do not share the costs of union membership deprive the union from the needed funds to continue to exist. This brings to mind the old saying TANSTAAFL “There ain't no such thing as a free lunch;” they wish to enjoy the benefits of unionization without paying its full cost.

Unions commonly use contract negotiation to mitigate this loss by including clauses mandating “agency fees” to compensate the union for its advocacy covering non-union workers. Both involved parties must agree to the terms of compensation as negotiated under the general collective bargaining