Just weeks after public sector unions were dealt a blow with the Supreme Court’s decision on the Janus v. AFSCME case, the Trump administration sent them, as well as his predecessor in office, another message.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reversed an Obama-era rule that allowed Medicaid funds to be diverted to third parties instead of being paid directly to health care providers.
The practice of “provider payment reassignment” was meant to allow states to make payments “for benefits such as health insurance, skills training, and other benefits customary for employees.” Since a large number of these providers were in public sector unions, those unions quickly discovered that they could manipulate the system to their own benefit.
Providers in some states found that they were being compelled to join the union or pay mandatory agency fees for representation — even if they didn’t want it. The latter of these practices was struck down in the aforementioned Janus case, and all such fees are now elective, allowing nonmembers to opt out.
But the unions took things one step further than just mandating that they be compensated. They began to siphon off dues from payments being made directly to providers in accordance with the exception that the Obama administration made for provider payment reassignment.- READ MORE
[divider][/divider]Public-sector unions may lose around 400,000 fee-paying members after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that forced agency fees are unconstitutional, The Washington Free Beacon reports.
The court’s 5-4 decision potentially affects about 5 million public-sector workers paying union fees, whether or not the worker is a member of the union.
Agency fees, a due paid to unions to cover the cost of representation, were required from many workers in specific, public-sector occupations and workplaces.
Prior to the court ruling, the mandatory fees were protected by law to limit free riders, or workers who don’t pay fees but benefit from a union’s collective bargaining.
The Service Employees International Union, American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees, National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers are some of the largest public-sector unions in the U.S., and they represent roughly 400,000 non-member, agency fee payers nationwide, according to 2017 labor filings reviewed by the Free Beacon.
Though some of the agency fee payers likely live in states that have outlawed mandatory dues, the SCOTUS ruling applies to 22 states that had not passed right-to-work protections for public-sector employees. – READ MORE
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