Supreme Court: Unconstitutional To Compell Disability Caregivers To Join Public Sector Unions

Today the Supreme Court by a 5-to-4 vote in Harris v. Quinn, said that an Illinois requirement that home health aides help cover a union’s cost of collective bargaining violates their First Amendment right to free speech.

The case had prompted widespread concern among public-sector unions because Illinois had deemed the aides, who are paid by the state, to be public employees. But writing for the court, Justice Samuel Alito said home care workers are different from other types of government employees because they work primarily for their disabled or elderly customers and do not have most of the rights and benefits of state employees.

Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens commented on the decision:"The Court decided that the state of Illinois unconstitutionally placed home caregivers for people who received disability Medicaid payments into public employee union, and that the state should not deduct union dues from the payments those caregivers received. The Court did not take the broader step of overturning a previous decision — Abood v. Detroit Board of Education — that allowed public employee union dues to be deducted from all employee paychecks whether they consented to join the union or not.

"While we are disappointed that the Court failed to end the practice of forced public employee union conscription, the decision today ends the abhorrent practice of union allied politicians dictating that those caring for 'the least of these' have union dues deducted from their support checks.

"The unions provided no services for these caregivers, yet their avarice in gaining state sanctioned theft of taxpayer dollars dedicated to helping offset the costs of caring for those most seriously disabled is unconscionable.

"If these unions and their legislative henchmen would go so far as to take money from the disabled, can there be any doubt about their greed when it comes to stopping commonsense reforms and cuts that help cities and states balance budgets? Public employee unions should be ashamed that this issue ever came before the Supreme Court, and people with disabilities and their caregivers everywhere will hopefully be on notice that these public employee unions are their enemies."

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