‘Sticking With the Union’ in Face of Janus Ruling, AFT’s Weingarten Tells Senate Dems
In Washington, D.C., Randi Weingarten, the leader of the American Federation of Teachers, addressed a panel of supportive Senate Democrats and expressed her belief that public-sector unions are not weakening in the aftermath of a recent Supreme Court ruling that deemed mandatory dues unconstitutional. Weingarten noted a significant shift in the attitudes of union members, stating that she has never witnessed such allegiance in her decades of union advocacy.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME, which occurred two weeks ago, concluded that compelling dissenting public-sector employees to pay agency fees violated their First Amendment rights. This 5-4 ruling overturned long-established precedent, allowing dissenting members to opt out of paying the portion of their dues that funded their union’s political activities, while still requiring them to contribute to collective bargaining and other shared benefits. Unions are expected to experience a decrease in revenue from dissenting members, as well as potential dropouts from full-fledged members who are no longer obligated to pay the mandatory portion of their dues.
The Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, an arm of the party’s leadership, convened a hearing this week to discuss the Janus decision and what they refer to as the "secret money campaign" aimed at diminishing workers’ rights. Several influential Democratic senators, such as Patty Murray and Debbie Stabenow, were in attendance.
Democrats and unions have long argued that the First Amendment arguments presented in Janus were a distraction, concealing the true intentions of wealthy right-wing donors to limit union power and subsequently curtail their financial support for Democratic candidates. Nancy MacLean, a professor at Duke University, described the decision as a critical element of the radical right’s covert plan to reshape the nation according to their libertarian worldview and diminish the power of ordinary citizens in favor of corporations.
On the other side of the political spectrum, proponents assert that unions, with their consistent stream of revenue from dues, have an excessive influence on lawmakers, obstructing taxpayer-funded pension reforms and resisting workplace changes. The plaintiffs in the dues cases argued that standard collective bargaining for public-sector unions is inherently political due to its use of public funds for salaries, retirement benefits, and other employment policies affecting the public, such as seniority-based layoffs.
The Janus decision is now being portrayed as part of a broader clash between conservatives and liberals over President Donald Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative federal judge in Washington, D.C., to the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh, if confirmed, would fill the seat formerly held by Justice Anthony Kennedy, a swing vote on divisive issues such as affirmative action, abortion, and marriage equality.
Senators assert that Kavanaugh is likely to perpetuate a series of court cases, including Janus, driven by right-wing donors to serve corporate interests. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon claimed that Kavanaugh embodies powerful corporate interests and funding from undisclosed sources.
Christine Marsh, Arizona’s 2016 Teacher of the Year and a state Senate candidate, also addressed the panel, expressing the determination of teachers nationwide to combat attacks against them with financial support from influential groups. Marsh highlighted the resilience of America’s teachers, stating that no amount of money can silence their voices.
The majority of strikes during the spring, which demanded better teacher salaries and increased funding for education, occurred in right-to-work states where union dues were not compulsory. As a result, the Janus decision will have no impact on these states.
Weingarten stated that the American Federation of Teachers has been proactive in responding to the ruling since January of this year by engaging with members through a re-commitment campaign. Over 500,000 of the union’s 800,000 members residing in states where mandatory dues were previously required have reaffirmed their commitment to the union, according to Weingarten.
Weingarten’s remarks differ from the National Education Association (NEA) experience, a teachers’ union with 3 million members, which was expecting to lose 300,000 members and face a budget cut of $50 million due to an unfavorable Janus decision.
Witnesses reported that right-wing groups wasted no time in reaching out to union members after the Janus ruling, encouraging them to leave the union.
According to Weingarten, some members of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) are responding by returning those letters and emails, expressing their disinterest and stating their intention to sue for invading their privacy. Additionally, the union is exploring various legal options, although specific details were not provided. Weingarten also mentioned the union’s efforts to uncover the right-wing groups responsible for these activities.
In the meantime, several states under Democratic control have already enacted measures to mitigate the impact of the Janus ruling. These laws grant unions greater access to employees and their contact information in order to present their case, establish automatic dues deductions, and impose limitations on opt-out periods for dissenting employees. However, some of these provisions may become irrelevant as the Supreme Court has also ruled that union members must now actively opt into membership, rather than requiring dissenters to opt out.
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