Statement by the Communications Workers of America on the Supreme Court Decision

Washington, D.C. -- Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear
*Friedrichs
vs. California Teachers Association* shows how extreme the assault on
workers’ bargaining rights has become.  The *Friedrichs* case is an assault
on public sector workers, financed by anti-worker and corporate education
supporters. These groups have been working for years to stifle the voices
of teachers and other public servants in the workplace and strip them of
collective bargaining rights.

Labor law requires that a union must represent all workers in the
bargaining unit. That’s why the “fair share” system makes sense. Workers
who choose not to join the union that the majority has approved still
benefit from the union representation. Under fair share, rather than
free-ride, these workers who choose not to join may be required to pay
their fair share of the costs of the representation from which they benefit*.
Friedrichs* seeks to encourage free-riding by outlawing the fair share
system for the public sector workforce, thereby making union representation
more difficult to sustain.

The public sector workforce is predominantly female and benefits from the
ability to bargain collectively.  The wealthy special interests behind this
lawsuit want to make it harder for these workers to sustain union
representation.

We hope that the Supreme Court sees through this attack on workers’ rights
and deals with the issues in the *Friedrichs* case fairly and promptly.