NFIB: SCOTUS Decision Defends Voice of Small Business in Challenge to Forced Union Fees

Pennsylvania Contact:
Rebecca Oyler, NFIB’s Pennsylvania Legislative Director
[email protected]
Cell: 717-512-3169 Office: 717-232-8582 x2

Washington, D.C. Contact:
Stephanie Marrs, NFIB’s Sr. Media Mgr.
Office: 202-314-2027 Cell: 252-955-8680

 

NFIB: Supreme Court Decision Defends Voice Of Small Business In Challenge To Forced Union Fees

 

Washington, D.C. (June 27 2018) – NFIB commends the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31. NFIB filed an amicus brief in this case, arguing that compulsory public employee union fees are unconstitutional.

“The Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. American Federation is a major win for the small business community,” said Karen Harned, Executive Director of the NFIB Small Business Legal Center. “For too long dissenting public employees have been forced to fund public employee unions that they do not agree with. In the past, armed with a guaranteed stream of revenue, public employee unions grew in influence and power, shutting out other voices, including that of small business who cannot afford increased taxes, more red tape, and onerous regulations.”

Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31 concerns whether states can forcibly require public employees to financially back public employee unions that they do not support. This case is important to small businesses because of the First Amendment issues presented in it and because of the efforts that these unions advocate for, most of which are unfavorable to small businesses.

Public employee unions have frequently promoted extreme labor policies at the state or local level that saddle businesses with higher labor costs. If a small business could not raise prices to cover those increased costs because customers would not pay more, some owners were forced to cut jobs, employee pay, or hours.

Unions also fought to maintain overly generous public employee pensions which have created significant debt loads or lagging economic conditions for many states and resulted in higher taxes.

The NFIB Small Business Legal Center protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently active in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.

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For more than 75 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses, and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.