The United States Supreme Court officially announced they will take up a case called Janus v. AFSCME, which challenges “fair share” fees paid by non-members who benefit from union-bargained contracts. This case challenges the same issue as the Friedrichs case two years ago.

If the corporate-backed plaintiffs are successful, this would make the entire public sector “right-to-work.” This means that anyone can choose not to pay union dues, but still receive the benefits of their contract.

We expect a decision on Janus by no later than the end of June of 2018 and potentially as early as May of 2018. After the appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch, we fully expect the court to rule against unions.

As a union, we are proactively preparing for a negative Janus decision. Right now, the most important thing we can do is to show the value of union membership through one-to-one conversations with both members and fee-payers.

The OEA has already been conducting member-organizing “Engage” events all around the state. It’s more important than ever to get involved in our listening campaign, so sign up if you haven’t already.

For more information about the Janus case, please read this article from the National Education Association. http://www.nea.org/home/71771.htm