Public employee unions in Oregon and Washington can continue to collect mandatory dues from workers they represent as the result of a Supreme Court decision issued Tuesday.
The Supreme Court once appeared ready to overturn laws in more than 20 states that require public employees in union shops to pay dues. That's even if the employees are not members of the union. But all that changed after last month’s death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia.
With his position unfilled, the court split 4-4 to preserve a lower court ruling upholding mandatory dues. Unions said this preserves the ability of organized labor to fight for better wages and benefits.
Twelve union groups in Oregon issued a statement praising the decision:
"Wealthy special interests know that when working families come together and form unions, we make major gains for all people. In Oregon, we have increased the minimum wage, established paid sick days, and fought for higher standards for workplace safety. These changes improve the quality of life for all Oregon families."
Critics say workers should not be forced to support unions they may disagree with politically. Portland lawyer Jill Gibson said public employees should be free to decide if they want to support a union. She's working on an initiative to repeal Oregon's law on union dues. But she is fighting in court with unions over the wording of the ballot title and acknowledged she may not have enough time to gather signatures to make the November 2016 ballot.
About 240,000 public employees in Washington and 130,000 in Oregon are affected by the Supreme Court's ruling.
Copyright 2016 Oregon Public Broadcasting
