Earlier this week the Supreme Court heard arguments in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a case that asks whether public workers who are not members of a union can be forced to pay “fair share service fees” in order to cover the cost of collective bargaining. A group of California teachers is suing to end the compulsory fees, which costs them $650 per year instead of the $1000 that union members pay. Both the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times have articles indicating that the tone of the proceedings seemed to indicate a majority of the Justices would be voting to overturn a 1977 Supreme Court ruling that allowed the fees.

Los Angeles Times– “Everything that is collectively bargaining is within the political sphere,” Justice Antonin Scalia said.

So the key question, according to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., is “whether or not individuals can be compelled to support political views that they disagree with.”

On Monday, […] → Keep reading