Supreme Court Considers Mandatory Union Fees

Published January 11, 2016 at 12:52 PM EST

People for and against unions hold up signs in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building January 11, 2016 in Washington, D.C. The high court is hearing arguments in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case. The case will decide whether California and 22 other states can make public employees, such as public school teacher Rebecca Friedrichs, pay union agency fees. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

A group of California teachers, backed by the conservative Center for Individual Rights, is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a 1977 ruling that allowed unions to collect mandatory fees from non-members, as long as those fees didn’t go to political causes.

Union supporters claim a ruling striking down the collection of mandatory fees from public sector union non-members would further weaken those unions. Legal scholar Emily Bazelon discusses the case with Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson.

Guest

Emily Bazelon, staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and a senior research fellow at Yale Law School. She tweets @emilybazelon.

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