The Supreme Court says a union must give nonmembers an immediate chance to object to unexpected fee increases that all workers are required to pay in closed-shop situations.
The court on Thursday ruled for Dianne Knox and other nonmembers of the Service Employees International Union’s Local 1000, who wanted to object and opt out of a $12 million special assessment the union required from its California public sector members. Knox and others said the union did not give them a legally required notice that the increase was coming.
The ruling was 7-2. SEIU and other labor unions raise dues without warning to pay for political campaigning and messaging in election years, giving members no choice and no means of opting out. These members tend to reside in states where union membership itself is forced on them by lack of right-to-work laws. Today’s ruling, which I may have mentioned wasn’t a close one, overruled a 9th Circuit ruling that the unions could continue the practice.
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