Court takes mandatory dues case

The Supreme Court recently agreed to take the case Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31. The case deals with the permissibility of public sector unions requiring maintenance dues even from non-members. Though laws exist against public sector unions requiring dues from non-members for lobbying purposes, requiring dues from non-members to cover collective bargaining that will still benefit them is legal. Petitioners in the case argue that even these maintenance dues are being used for political purposes by the unions. Though not directly agricultural, this case addresses the topic of compelled speech in the form of required payment, an argument often made against the Beef Checkoff Program and other checkoff programs. “No person should ever be forced to involuntarily contribute to an organization which he or she is not even a member of, a clear violation of First Amendment rights,” said Americans for Limited Government Foundation President Don Todd while praising the Supreme Court for taking up the case. “With Justice Neil Gorsuch now on the job, this could be an opportunity for the Court to make it clear that freedom of speech also includes the freedom to refrain from subsidizing it.”