Malinowski Condemns Supreme Court Ruling

Against Public Sector Unions

In another 5-4 decision today, the Supreme Court dealt a major blow to America’s unions. In Janus v. AFSCME the court ruled that public employee unions could no longer collect fees from non-members in the public sector in exchange for bargaining on behalf of all public employees. The fees collected from non-members are “fair share” fees that cannot be used for political activities or lobbying.

“This ruling is nothing short of union busting,” said Tom Malinowski. “Unions have made our country better, economy stronger, and our workers safer. Especially at a time of economic uncertainty, we should be empowering our unions, not attacking them.”

Approximately 60% of public sector employees in New Jersey were union members as of 2017.

“Already, public sector unions are required to bargain on behalf of non-union employees. Stripping them of the right to collect fees will make it harder for them to bargain at all,” said Malinowski. “GOP special interests are demanding public sector unions work for free. Today may have been a blow to America’s workers, but our elected representatives can still fight.  In Congress, I will stand up to union busting tactics that threaten our workers and our economy.”

Tom is the former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. He oversaw the State Department’s Office of International Labor Affairs, serving as the chief advocate for worker protections in our international trade agreements and providing support to trade union activists around the world. He has received the support of the New Jersey AFL-CIO, which represents over 50 public sector union locals in the state.