Rio Grande Foundation Signs Amicus Brief in US Supreme Court Friedrichs Case on Worker Freedom

The next big case coming to the US Supreme Court is Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. At issue is whether the current practice in non-“right to work,” forced-union states of requiring workers to pay union agency fees for the privilege of being a public employee violates the First Amendment rights of workers. This case has the potential to guarantee the right to work for public employees in all 50 states. In other words, it would free government workers who don’t want to be associated with a union from having to pay dues in support of that union.

The full text of the amicus brief can be found here.

Interestingly enough, some New Mexico “first responders” took the opportunity presented by the marking of the 14th anniversary of 9/11 to inveigh against the concept of “right to work.”

As the article noted, “Albuquerque firefighter and former state representative Emily Kane spoke about how the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center provided opportunities to better serve those in such an attack. She said after the first attack, union officials provided an ‘ability to communicate’ with building officials and first responders and subsequently implement more fire drills and better radio communication.”

So, “right to work” is bad because…9/11. Aside from the fact that New Mexico is not New York City and is far less likely to be attacked by terrorists, I simply can’t fathom how forcing all public employees to pay union dues really makes them or us safer. We’ll see what the US Supreme Court has to say when it hears the case.