As a follow-up to yesterday’s post, What a Difference One Vote Makes, today’s announcements by SCOTUS hammer home the point. I’ll discuss today’s opinion on union dues a bit later, but want to first focus on this: the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan, Justice Kennedy has served 30 years on the Court and is now 81 years old.
When Donald Trump ran for President, he was assailed by both sides of the aisle about what kind of judges and justices he would appoint. There was already an opening on the Court with the death of Antonin Scalia and rumors were rampant that Justice Kennedy would retire. Retirement discussions also included Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is now 85 years young. Was Donald Trump truly a conservative? Was he a liberal in Republican clothing?
To alleviate these concerns about his judicial appointments, candidate Donald Trump issued a list of 21 potential US Supreme Court appointees. As President-elect, on November 17, 2017, he reissued the list, which now can be found on Whitehouse.gov. With so much time to do “opposition research” on each of these individuals, Democrats are likely prepared to go to war over each and every one of them. It will be interesting to watch.
As for today’s announced decision about mandatory payment of union dues by government employees who are not members of, but are represented by, employee associations or unions, it’s about time! According to SCOTUSBlog,
In an opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, the court concluded today that the fees violate the First Amendment. No one would doubt, Alito wrote, that the First Amendment bars a state from requiring its residents to “sign a document expressing support for a particular set of positions on controversial public issues.” Requiring someone to pay for speech by someone else also raises First Amendment concerns, Alito noted.
In 2016, SCOTUSblog reveals, “the justices heard oral argument in a challenge by a group of California public-school teachers, but Justice Antonin Scalia died before the court could release its opinion, leaving the eight-member court deadlocked.”
Once again, Justice Neil Gorsuch made the difference, voting with the majority. Now, these employees will have additional monies in their pockets each month. They’ll no longer fund a union that doesn’t represent their views. And, they’ll no longer fund political speech that is diametrically opposed to their own stance on issues, basically funding opposition to themselves.