The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that government workers can't be forced to contribute to labor unions that represent them in collective bargaining. We also examine the reunification of migrant families who were forcibly separated; discuss Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement announcement; and more
How today’s Janus decision impacts unions and politics in California and nationwide
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that government workers can't be forced to contribute to labor unions that represent them in collective bargaining, dealing a serious financial blow to organized labor.
The justices are scrapping a 41-year-old decision that had allowed states to require that public employees pay some fees to unions that represent them, even if the workers choose not to join.
The 5-4 decision fulfills a longtime wish of conservatives to get rid of the so-called fair share fees that non-members pay to unions in roughly two dozen states. The court ruled that the laws violate the First Amendment by compelling workers to support unions they may disagree with. "States and public-sector unions may no longer extract agency fees from nonconsenting employees," Justice Samuel Alito said in his majority opinion for the court's five conservative justices.
President Donald Trump weighed in minutes after the decision was handed down, while Alito still was reading a summary of it from the bench. "Big loss for the coffers of the Democrats!" Trump said in a tweet.
The case involving Illinois state government worker Mark Janus is similar to the one the justices took up in 2016. At that time, the court appeared to be ready to overrule a 1997 high court decision that serves as the legal foundation for the fair share fees. But Scalia's death left the court tied, and a lower court ruling in favor of the fees remained in place.
The unions argued that so-called fair share fees pay for collective bargaining and other work the union does on behalf of all employees, not just its members. More than half the states already have right-to-work laws banning mandatory fees, but most members of public-employee unions are concentrated in states that don't, including California, New York, and Illinois.
So how does the Supreme Court decision impact California politics? We explain.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Carla Marinucci, senior writer for POLITICO’s California Playbook
Sean T. Walsh, Republican political analyst and partner at Wilson Walsh Consulting in San Francisco; he is a former adviser to California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and a former White House staffer for Presidents Reagan and H.W. Bush
Fernando Guerra, professor and director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University; he is a member of the Southern California Public Radio Board of Trustees
Yvonne Walker, president of SEIU Local 1000, the Sacramento-based branch of the labor union representing many public service employees
Mark Janus, the plaintiff in the SCOTUS case, Janus v. AFSCME
Jacob Huebert, attorney who represented the plaintiff, Mark Janus, in the SCOTUS case, Janus v. AFSCME; he is also the director of litigation at the Liberty Justice Center, a nonprofit that focuses on protecting economic liberty and private property rights
Cynthia Estlund, professor of labor and employment law at New York University; she co-authored an amicus brief in support of AFSCME
Federal judge orders migrant families to reunite within 30 days – what now?
The clock is ticking for the Trump administration after a federal judge ordered the thousands of migrant children and parents who were forcibly separated at the Mexican border reunited within 30 days, sooner for youngsters under 5.
The hard deadline was set Tuesday night by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego after President Donald Trump's order ending his policy of separating families gave way to days of uncertainty, conflicting information and no word from the administration on when parents might see their children again.
The ruling poses a host of logistical problems for the administration, and it was unclear how it would meet the deadline. Health and Human Services, which is in charge of the children, referred questions to the Justice Department. The Justice Department said the ruling makes it "even more imperative that Congress finally act to give federal law enforcement the ability to simultaneously enforce the law and keep families together."
More than 2,000 children have been separated from their parents in recent weeks and placed in government-contracted shelters - hundreds of miles away, in some cases - under a "zero tolerance" policy toward families caught illegally entering the U.S. Many are from drug- and violence-wracked Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
So long it will take to reunite families? And what does that mean for those who entered the country illegally? We explain.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Nick Miroff, national security reporter covering immigration enforcement, drug trafficking and the Department of Homeland Security for the Washington Post; he tweets
Ted Hesson, employment and immigration reporter for POLITICO who has been following the story; he tweets
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announces retirement
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced Wednesday that he is retiring after more than 30 years.
His retirement will give President Donald Trump the chance to cement conservative control of the high court.
A Republican appointee, 81-year-old Kennedy has held the key vote on such high-profile issues as abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, guns, campaign finance and voting rights.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Greg Stohr, Supreme Court reporter for Bloomberg News who has been following the story; he tweets
Helen Knowles, associate professor of political science at SUNY Oswego State University in New York; she’s the author of “The Tie Goes to Freedom: Justice Anthony M. Kennedy on Liberty” (Rowman & Littlefield 2009)
Sam Erman, professor of law at USC; he clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy from 2010-2011