Northeastern Workers Battle Forced Union Dues
"Both Neely and Lonis are hoping that the Supreme Court's June decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees will help them to finally succeed. The 5-4 decision ruled that public sector employees cannot be compelled to pay union fees, overturning a four-decade precedent allowing for forced unionism. Both suits filed by the Pennsylvania-based public interest law firm Fairness Center said the courts must honor resignation requests so as not to infringe on the right to free association. "There is no state interest, compelling or otherwise, justifying the state's requirement that individuals remain members of a private organization, including a labor organization, for any length of time," the Neely suit says. Fairness Center President David Osborne said each case highlights union resistance to workers exercising their rights as employees and U.S. citizens. He told the Washington Free Beacon that Neely "did not waive his constitutional rights when he became a psychiatric aide. And his right to leave the union should not be limited to 15 days every three years." The continued paycheck deductions both plaintiffs face have forced them to subsidize organizations with which they disagree." The Constitution provides for the forced association of the individual and government. This is part of the social contract which was created between the people at the signing of the Constitution which in specific language took some of the natural rights from individuals and placed them in the control of the government. There is no Constitutional provision that the government has the power to force individuals to associate with any private entities or individuals. I argued this position with both of my unions the AFL-CIO and the AWPPW to no avail. I did not have the resources as a 16- or 18-year-old to fight the unions in court, nor did I have the skill or understanding of the process to do so. Thank God someone finally cracked this egg. The forced association of the individual with the union is tantamount to forced labor, forced association and is quite similar to a form of limited enslavement or servitude. And here I thought the 13th Amendment took care of this issue. Silly me! The indentured servitude of the worker and the forced association of the individual with the union has been stopped by the Janus decision. Good. Unions attempting to stop the employees from resigning are behaving criminally and should be punished criminally. It is time for litigation to force the issue. Neither government nor the unions it protects are immune from the consequences of behaving both unConstitutionally and criminally. Where is the DOJ? Still asleep at the switch, I see. Sigh!
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