[P]ublic unions in Vermont say a Supreme Court ruling made last week will have direct impact on membership and a key source of revenue.
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the practice of charging non-union members union fees. The narrow 5-4 majority in Janus v. AFSCME, overturned the 1977 landmark case Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, which found that unions could mandate non-members to pay union fees to cover the costs of “collective bargaining, contract administration, and grievance adjustment purposes.”
The 2018 ruling determined that such an arrangment “violates the free speech rights of nonmembers by compelling them to subsidize private speech on matters of substantial public concern.”
Public sector unions across the country, and in Vermont, are bracing for the economic repercussions of the decision.
The Vermont State Employees Association will lose about $700,000 as a direct result of the change, according to VSEA executive director Steve Howard.
But, Howard says recruitment is up. About 60 people have joined the VSEA over the past five days.
The union currently has 6,128 paying members and 1,500 non-members that are a part of the collective bargaining unit. Howard said the number of paying members is “historic.”
He attributes the uptick in membership to new laws and policy changes that will have an impact on collective bargaining.
“I think a bad boss is a good organizer; and I think people were very concerned about Donald Trump and have become increasingly concerned about Governor Scott and the way his chief of staff has interjected himself into politics and the operations of the administration,” Howard said
Since the Supreme Court decision, Howard said that VSEA has sent letters to members, explaining the case.
“We’ve been explaining to members what’s behind this decision; this is not a decision that fell from the sky, this is a decision that was funded by billionaire Koch brothers,” Howard said. “The reason they funded this was to try to break the backs of unions.”
According to a June 27 [New Yorker article] the Koch Brothers and other conservative billionaires have been funneling money into anti-union cases for decades through tax-exempt organizations.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/as-kennedy-retires-the-supreme-courts-attack-on-labor-unions-is-a-sign-of-things-to-come
“I think the impact is it’s going to create a new level of energy and activism among rank and file union members,” Howard said, “with some people saying ‘I am joining because of this decision.’”
The Vermont-NEA, the state’s largest union, has also urged members to encourage non-members to join.
“This case is the continuation of a generation of attacks on labor,” Vermont NEA spokesperson Darren Allen said in an interview with VTDigger. “We will continue to make the case that being a member makes the profession stronger and makes their voice stronger.”
Allen said the union has 13,035 paying members and 1,165 non-members and declined to comment on how much revenue the union would lose as a result of the case.
According to the NEA’s website, dues were set at $165. If non-members do not pay dues, the loss would be about $192,225.
The union plans to recruit non-members, Allen said.
“Our main message to members is the same message we would tell everybody, this union has grown because members have made to the case to nonmembers its a really good force,” Allen said.
