Reprinted from Bloomberg News by Greg Stohr on June 7, 2021.
The US Supreme Court turned away a bid to weaken the power of public-sector unions, refusing to reconsider a 1984 ruling that lets them serve as the exclusive bargaining agent for workers.
The justices without comment rejected an appeal by Jade Thompson, an Ohio high school teacher who said she has a First Amendment right not to be represented by a union. The appeal was one of the first to test the court’s appetite for labor issues since Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation in October created a 6-3 conservative majority.
In rebuffing Thompson, the court’s conservative wing passed on a chance to extend a 2018 ruling that said government employees can opt out of paying fees to a union to cover the cost of collective bargaining. …
