Supreme Court Decision On Mandatory Agency Fees Could Take Politically Powerful Unions Out At The Knees

The Supreme Court has barred public-employee contracts requiring workers to pay union dues, which can be used to support collective bargaining activities and other efforts including legislative advocacy, grievances and worker safety programs. The decision will ripple across the health industry in part because many workers in the field are part of unions. But another reason is that the organizations are often vocal supporters of health programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

Modern Healthcare: Supreme Court Ruling On Union Fees Could Shift Healthcare Politics

American political dynamics around healthcare and other issues could be changed by a U.S. Supreme Court decision Wednesday that significantly weakens public-sector labor unions. In a ruling with major ramifications for healthcare organizations, a bitterly split high court ruled that public-sector unions cannot collect mandatory service fees from members for representing them in contract negotiations. (Meyer, 6/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court Deals Blow To Public-Sector Unions

The 5-4 vote, along conservative-liberal lines, on Wednesday overruled a 1977 precedent that had fueled the growth of public-sector unionization even as representation has withered in private industry. More than one-third of public employees are unionized, compared with just 6.5% of those in the private sector, according to a January report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The impact of the ruling is likely to stretch far beyond the workplace, sapping resources from unions such as the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the National Education Association that have provided funds, resources and activists largely in support of Democratic candidates. (Bravin, 6/27)

The New York Times: Labor Unions Will Be Smaller After Supreme Court Decision, But Maybe Not Weaker

The court’s decision is the latest evidence that moves to weaken unions are exacting a major toll. Beyond the dropout campaigns aimed at members, conservatives are bringing lawsuits to retroactively recover fees collected by unions from nonmembers. (Scheiber, 6/27)

Los Angeles Times: California's Politically Powerful Labor Unions Have Been Preparing For This Supreme Court Ruling For A Long Time

California’s public employee unions, for decades some of the state’s towering political giants, knew this day was coming. Now, after a majority of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the legality of the fees charged to nonmember workers — sometimes totaling hundreds of dollars a year — union leaders are relying on plans they’ve been carefully crafting for more than five years. “No one is trying to pretend that it’s not a hit,” said Alma Hernandez, the executive director of the Service Employees International Union’s California state council. “But I think that the work that our locals have done across the state will help us maintain a majority of our members in the union.” (Myers, 6/27)

And in other Supreme Court news —

The Associated Press: Abortion-Rights Bloc To Fight After Pregnancy Center Ruling

In effectively knocking down a California law aimed at regulating anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a blow to abortion-rights supporters who saw the law as a crucial step toward beating back the national movement against the procedure. Democratic-led California became the first state in 2016 to require the centers to provide information about access to birth control and abortion, and it came as Republican-led states ramped up their efforts to thwart abortion rights. (Ronayne, 6/27)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.

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