Agency fee saved by death of a
Supreme Court Justice?
agency fees from non-members.
The death of Supreme Court Associate Justice
Antonin Scalia in February appears to have
paved the way for a victory for public sector
unions. There has been a great deal of controversy over the refusal of the Republican
majority in the U.S. Senate to consider
President Obama’s nomination of a U.S.
Supreme Court justice to replace Justice Scalia,
who passed away on Feb. 13. Because the
Supreme Court was left with eight justices,
there was concern that a number of decisions
would result in a 4-4 tie vote. In such a case, the
decision of the federal appellate court below
would stand and the Supreme Court’s tie vote would not serve
as precedent.
State agency fee laws and the Supreme Court’s
1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education have been u