Washington, DC (August 5, 2014) – In the wake of a National Right to Work Foundation-won U.S. Supreme Court victory in June, government union bosses from across the country are now abandoning their forced dues demands on home-based personal care and childcare providers.
On June 30, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in a case concerning whether Illinois homecare providers can be forced into union ranks against their will. The case, Harris v. Quinn, is a class-action lawsuit litigated by Foundation staff attorneys and filed by eight Illinois care providers after Illinois Governors signed executive orders rendering them vulnerable to unwanted union representation.
The Court struck down the scheme, ruling that individuals who indirectly receive state subsidies based on their clientele cannot be forced to pay compulsory union fees. The Court’s ruling renders unconstitutional similar homecare unionization schemes in effect in at least 14 other states.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) officials last week notified Illinois home-based childcare providers that they will not demand $10 million in annual forced dues payments from the providers.
In Minnesota, after several providers represented by National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys filed a federal lawsuit last week, SEIU bosses also said that they will not force personal care providers who care for family members to pay forced dues.
Then, late Friday, SEIU officials notified Massachusetts home childcare providers that they will no longer be forced to pay union fees. Massachusetts providers represented by Foundation staff attorneys had filed a federal suit challenging the SEIU unionization scheme in April.
«Thanks to a National Right to Work Foundation-won victory at the U.S. Supreme Court, SEIU bosses across the country are being forced to back down from their forced union dues demands,» stated Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. «SEIU officials are no longer empowered to siphon off money that is designated for low-income and special needs children and adults who receive care at home.»
While Harris is already freeing tens of thousands of homecare providers from forced dues ranks, Foundation attorneys continue the legal battle to end such forced dues schemes and ensure the return of illegally-seized forced dues. In addition, they have brought suits for providers to stop state schemes imposing union officials as monopoly representatives of homecare providers who don’t want and never asked for union so-called «representation.»
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in more than 250 cases nationwide per year.
