Some observers argue the labor movement in America is "having a moment," but for the four largest public-sector workers' unions—AFSCME, SEIU, NEA, and AFT—the "moment" is defined by declining membership and waning relevance.
In the four years since the landmark 2018 Supreme Court decision Janus v. AFSCME, which barred public-sector unions from collecting mandatory fees, those unions have seen a loss of more than 200,000 members.
Janus brought the plight of workers to the forefront of the national conversation and shined a light on how public-sector unions severely limited the rights of their employees. In the years since, many states have codified new protections for workers while simultaneously increasing the transparency and accountability of union executives—but more action is needed.
Despite Janus recognizing the rights of government workers to join or leave a union—and the subsequent exodus of tens of thousands of government workers from union halls—labor leaders continue to abuse their outsized political power and trample the rights of workers.
Instead of exploring innovative ways to serve their members or abandoning the leftward political swerve that has left many members behind, union executives have doubled down on partisan political games. Government union executives spent $1.8 billion of union dues on political action committee donations during the 2020 election cycle alone, according to the National Institute for Labor Relations Research. Almost all of this money went to aid Democrats and leftist causes—ignoring the ideological diversity of union membership.
Little wonder these unions are hemorrhaging members.
Desperate to retain membership and political influence, unions are pushing for laws that restrict when members can leave their unions, and pursuing other political tactics to diminish the rights of workers that Janus sought to protect. At the federal level, they have made passage of the PRO Act—which would create new employment restrictions and end right-to-work laws in 27 states—a top priority.
While the PRO Act has stalled in Congress, Big Labor allies have scored victories at the state level. In Virginia, long a right-to-work state, a Democratic governor and legislature authorized workers to collectively bargain with school boards and local governments. Colorado unionized state and county employees. Missouri's 2017 right-to-work law was overturned, and state courts eviscerated other reforms because public safety officers were exempted.
In my home state of Pennsylvania, Jane Ladley—a veteran teacher who served students for more than 25 years—decided she did not want to join a union and pay dues that fund causes that violate her religious beliefs. Even as a non-member, Jane was still forced to pay so-called "fair share fees" to the union, but as a religious objector she had the option to donate to a charity instead. But after her choices were repeatedly deemed unsatisfactory by the Pennsylvania State Education Association, Jane spent eight years in a grueling court fight against the union. She finally won in May of this year when a state court ruled Pennsylvania's "fair share" fee law unconstitutional under Janus.
I'm proud that my fellow Pennsylvanian Jane was able to successfully apply the Janus ruling to our state. It is insane that she had to fight the multi-year battle she did.
Yet it's a struggle that hundreds of thousands of workers continue to endure each year.
There is a bright spot for some state employees, as a number of policymakers have begun to prioritize the rights of workers over special interests and advanced meaningful labor reforms. States like Michigan, Texas, and Oklahoma took action to ensure government employees are aware of their legal rights.
Arkansas banned collective bargaining for most government employees and outlawed strikes by public-sector workers. Indiana required teachers to reauthorize payroll deductions of union dues yearly and barred unions from imposing narrow opt-out windows, while West Virginia banned public-sector strikes and enacted paycheck protection, which prohibits payroll deduction of union dues and political contributions.
This past April, Arizona banned government workers from using "release time," which allows workers to step away from their civil service duties to perform labor union business while receiving taxpayer-funded pay and benefits.
The gold standard of labor reforms is Wisconsin's Act 10, which predated Janus by seven years and gave workers the right to choose whether to join a union and participate in regular union elections. A Commonwealth Foundation study found savings of $7 billion in 2018 alone resulting from Act 10's reforms.
It's difficult to overstate the significance of these reforms. But lawmakers across the country must take note that more work remains ahead. We must prioritize the rights of workers—people like Jane who are fighting for their livelihoods—over special interests and keep advancing reforms that benefit workers and taxpayers.
Charles Mitchell is president and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania's free-market think tank.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
