The Supreme Court has failed to protect the working class in its recent Janus vs. Afscme ruling by weakening the best defense against employee abuse: unions.

Labor unions are worker’s recourse against unfair wages and working conditions. Unions act as a collective bargaining group during contract negotiations to ensure just wages are agreed upon, according to a 2017 essay published by the Economic History Association.

Unions are largely funded by employees paying union dues, money which is deducted from a member’s paycheck each pay period. Non-member employees typically pay “agency fees,” which are a percentage of what a normal union due is, according to an article by the National Labor Relations board.

Illinois unions can expect a decline in funding and membership as a result of the Janus vs. Afscme ruling. Non-members can now enjoy the same wages and employee benefits that unions negotiate for, despite no longer having to pay a dime in union dues or agency fees.  In order to serve their members, unions require funding. 

Illinois unions are no longer allowed to collect dues or agency fees from employees who aren’t members of the union. While no one should be forced to pay for a service they didn’t ask for, it is unfair to reap the benefits of a union without paying any agency fees or union dues.

One of the main arguments posed by those against union fees is rooted in the fact individual employees can attempt to negotiate their own salaries without any union assistance.

“I’ve negotiated my own salary and benefits at plenty of jobs before I started working for the state,” said Mark Janus, plaintiff in the Janus vs. Afscme case. “I’d be more than happy to do so again.”

Even if individual employees can effectively negotiate their own contract without any union assistance, unions also protect workers by looking into possible breaches of workplace safety and violations of discrimination laws, according to an informational article by the workplace fairness organization, a non-profit working to preserve and promote employee rights. Unions even allow workers to effectively band together as a collective to pressure their to implement additional safety measures if deemed necessary. 

It’s a no-brainer that unions are imperative to the preservation of humane working conditions. Unions even worked to end child labor, the first American Federations of Labour convention called on all states to ban children under 14 from employment in 1881, according a 2011 article by the Think Progress Organization. But without proper funding unions can’t protect their members. It is unfortunate the Supreme Court has chosen to favor the individual over the whole when it comes to the workplace.

The Supreme Court has failed to protect the working class in its recent Janus vs. Afscme ruling by weakening the best defense against employee abuse: unions.

Labor unions are worker’s recourse against unfair wages and working conditions. Unions act as a collective bargaining group during contract negotiations to ensure just wages are agreed upon, according to a 2017 essay published by the Economic History Association.

Unions are largely funded by employees paying union dues, money which is deducted from a member’s paycheck each pay period. Non-member employees typically pay “agency fees,” which are a percentage of what a normal union due is, according to an article by the National Labor Relations board.

Illinois unions can expect a decline in funding and membership as a result of the Janus vs. Afscme ruling. Non-members can now enjoy the same wages and employee benefits that unions negotiate for, despite no longer having to pay a dime in union dues or agency fees.  In order to serve their members, unions require funding.

Illinois unions are no longer allowed to collect dues or agency fees from employees who aren’t members of the union. While no one should be forced to pay for a service they didn’t ask for, it is unfair to reap the benefits of a union without paying any agency fees or union dues.

One of the main arguments posed by those against union fees is rooted in the fact individual employees can attempt to negotiate their own salaries without any union assistance.

“I’ve negotiated my own salary and benefits at plenty of jobs before I started working for the state,” said Mark Janus, plaintiff in the Janus vs. Afscme case. “I’d be more than happy to do so again.”

Even if individual employees can effectively negotiate their own contract without any union assistance, unions also protect workers by looking into possible breaches of workplace safety and violations of discrimination laws.