Wednesday, May 28, 2014

An Update on Harris Vs. Quinn From City Journal

A very well-written article about what is at stake. 

Pam is one of my heroes.

Read all about her in this fine piece.

"Pam Harris, the case’s lead plaintiff, cares for her adult son."

"She and other home-care workers brought a class action against the state, disputing their status as Illinois state government employees and challenging the compelled union payments. They argued that, even if they were government workers, the rules in the public sector should be different from those in the private sector, where compulsory dues and fees have been allowed since the New Deal."

"Moreover, they claimed, since the SEIU in its bargaining role was influencing government action, the union is really a political organization engaged in lobbying. Compelling government workers to support such organizations violates their First Amendment rights, absent a “compelling state interest” in the outcome. The legal standard applied by the Supreme Court in private-sector cases—“labor peace”—is inapplicable when, as in Harris, the unionized employees don’t interact in a shared workplace"

"The Harris plaintiffs lost in district court and in the Seventh Circuit, but the Supreme Court agreed to hear their appeal."