Title:

Daniel Locke, et al. v. Edward Karass, et al.

Subject:

Unions, First Amendment, Labor Law

Question:

In Ellis v. Railway Clerks, the Court unanimously "determined that the [Railway Labor Act], as informed by the First Amendment, prohibits the use of dissenters' [union] fees for extraunit litigation." Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Ass'n, 500 U.S. 507, 528 (1991) (opinion of Blackmun, J., citing Ellis, 466 U.S. 435, 453 (1984)). In Lehnert, a four-member plurality therefore held "that the Amendment proscribes such assessments in the public sector." Id. Moreover, Justice Scalia's separate opinion, concurring in part in the judgment announced by Justice Blackmun, reasoned that "there is good reason to treat [Ellis and the Court's other statutory cases] as merely reflecting the constitutional rule." Id. at 555.

May a State, nonetheless, consistent with the First and Fourteenth Amendments, condition continued public employment on the payment of agency fees for purposes of financing a monopoly bargaining agent's affiliates' litigation outside of a nonunion employee's bargaining unit?

Decisions:

• U.S. Court of Appeals - 1st Circuit Opinion Filed: August 8, 2007
• United States Supreme Court Cert. Granted: February 19, 2008

Resources:

• Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.