In this episode of Intersections, Vanessa Williamson and Elizabeth Mann Levesque review the Supreme Court’s ruling on Janus v. AFSCME, which bars public sector unions from collecting “fair share” or “agency” fees from non-union members to offset collective bargaining costs. Levesque and Williamson put the Janus case in the context of “right-to-work” legislation, the decline of private sector unions, and the recent wave of teachers’ strikes to assess how the decision will affect public sector unions in the short term and future of unions’ economic and political power more broadly.
Show notes:
- SCOTUS’s labor decisions: Bad news for working people, and a taste of what’s to come
- For Democrats and public workers, there’s a lot at stake in the Supreme Court’s Janus decision
- On Labor Day, a look at the state of the unions
- More Americans view long-term decline in union membership negatively than positively
- Which states might experience the next wave of teacher strikes?
- Hidden factors contributing to teacher strikes in Oklahoma, Kentucky, and beyond
- Trump’s executive order on unions will hurt federal employees
Direct download of this episode
With thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo, Chris McKenna, Brennan Hoban, and Fred Dews for additional support.
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Authors
Commentary
PodcastWhat the Supreme Court’s Janus decision means for unions and workers
Elizabeth Mann Levesque,
Elizabeth Mann Levesque
Former Brookings Expert,
Student Support & Classroom Climate Consultant
- University of Michigan
@elizkmann
Vanessa Williamson, and
Vanessa Williamson
Senior Fellow
- Governance Studies,
Senior Fellow
- Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center
@v_williamson
Adrianna Pita
Adrianna Pita
Office of Communications
July 18, 2018