Illinois labor expert available to comment on upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case, Janus v. AFSCME, and its deep Illinois roots.
CHICAGO (May 17, 2018) — A ruling on the landmark U.S. Supreme Court labor case, Janus v. AFSCME, could come down as early as Monday, May 21. The decision will determine whether Mark Janus, a child support specialist from Illinois, along with the other 370,000 public-sector workers in Illinois and 5.5 million government workers across the country, should be forced to pay dues to a union in order to keep their jobs.
The fight for worker freedom has a deep history in the Land of Lincoln. Most recently, the fight can be traced to northern Illinois mom Pam Harris, who argued – and won – in the 2014 U.S. Supreme court case, Harris v. Quinn, that home health care workers should not have to pay union agency fees.
Mailee Smith, Illinois labor expert and staff attorney at the Illinois Policy Institute, is available for interviews on how Illinois could be affected by this ruling.
BACKGROUND:
- The Janus case could overturn a 1977 U.S. Supreme Court case, Abood v. Detroit Board of Education.
- Abood set a precedent for decades that government workers should have to pay fees to a union.
- The precedent was challenged multiple times in the last decade, including the case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association in 2016, which resulted in a 4-4 split decision after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
- Mark Janus pays about $600 annually in agency fees to his agency’s union, AFSCME, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
For bookings or interviews, contact media@illiniospolicy.org or (312) 607-4977.