MARY O’ROURKE
In Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the First Amendment prohibited a public sector union from requiring nonmembers to pay a special fee to finance the union’s political speech. Justice Alito authored the majority decision, in which Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Kennedy and Thomas joined. Justice Sotomayor filed a concurring opinion joined by Justice Ginsburg. Justice Breyer filed a dissenting opinion in which Justice Kagan joined. The Court was faced with determining if a union in an agency shop jurisdiction could enforce a special-assessment or dues increase upon nonunion members to support the union’s political and ideological beliefs without sending out a Hudson Notice.Continue Reading>
