06.27.18

Scott Statement on Supreme Court’s Ruling in Janus v. AFSCME

“Today, the Supreme Court’s conservatives once again used dubious legal reasoning to achieve a partisan objective.”

WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in Janus v. AFSCME, which found that public-sector unions cannot collect “fair share fees” for the services they are legally required to provide workers.

“Today, the Supreme Court’s conservatives once again used dubious legal reasoning to achieve a partisan objective. The Court’s ruling in Janus ignores four decades of precedent and now rigs the rules against teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public-sector workers who are fighting for fair wages and decent working conditions. Using the First Amendment as a weapon, the Court has effectively required unions to provide an array of services to non-union members, while simultaneously prohibiting unions from charging a fee for those services.

“Rebuilding unions is critical to rebuilding America’s middle class. Union workers have more access to paid sick leave, better medical and retirement benefits, and higher pay than non-union workers. Instead of applying clear legal precedent and practical reasoning to uphold the rights of public-sector unions, the Court’s conservatives have sought to dismantle them by violating decades of legal precedent.  

“As Justice Kagan wrote in her dissent, the majority overturned established precedent, ‘for no exceptional or special reason, but because it never liked the decision…it wanted to pick the winning side in what should be—and until now, has been—an energetic policy debate.’”

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