On Saturday, February 24, Diana Limongi, a New York City clerical worker, will tell thousands of people in Manhattan’s Foley Square about the difficulty of caring for a newborn without paid family leave.
And on Monday, assistant teacher Sherry Nickerson will rally for unions with her sister and other demonstrators in downtown Chicago, while union leader Peter MacKinnon coordinates walkouts across Massachusetts.
They are among the tens of thousands of workers expected to participate in a nationwide show of force by the labor movement, timed to take place on the eve of an important Supreme Court case. A statement from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) calls it “largest national day of public sector workplace actions to ever take place in America.”
Oral arguments for Janus v. AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) will be heard Monday. In deciding the case, the conservative-leaning high court is expected to ban public-sector unions from charging any fees to government workers who choose not to join the union that represents them—even though those workers may gain from the wages and benefits that the union negotiates on their behalf.
The potential blow to public-sector unions would buffet the entire American labor movement, and even, by extension, the Democratic party.
The ruling would only apply to public-sector unions. Their private-sector counterparts could continue to charge such fees in states where the practice is permitted. But the potential blow to public-sector unions, whose members account for close to half of all U.S. unionists, would buffet the entire American labor movement, and even, by extension, the Democratic party, observers say.
What is at stake is “more than just the ability to collect dues,” says Sarita Gupta, executive director of Jobs with Justice, a coalition group that is helping organize the mobilization. An adverse ruling would “fundamentally weaken the institutions of labor … one of the most organized and successful institutions that represents working people in our economy and our democracy.”
Government workers in more than twenty states might be tempted to leave their unions if the court rules against AFSCME. They could avoid paying “fair share” fees that cover the costs of collective bargaining—even though unions would still be required to negotiate benefits and wages on their behalf.
“Fair share” fees cover only costs that are “germane to collective bargaining and contract administration,” while full union dues help fund a union’s political expenditures and other activities, explains Moshe Marvit, a fellow at The Century Foundation who specializes in labor law.
Public-sector unions are scrambling to persuade members to keep paying dues regardless of the court’s ruling. Otherwise, unions would have fewer resources to fight for higher wages and benefits.
In Chicago, unions and community groups will converge on Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago to publicize what Nickerson, the assistant teacher, describes to The Progressive as “a case to bust up unions.”
Teke Wiggin
Nickerson will hand out flyers and rally with her sister and fellow members of the Local 73 chapter of SEIU. She says she’s fighting to protect her pension and health insurance, along with the other benefits teachers’ unions have secured for her in the past, such as raises for getting a bachelor’s degree, summer vacation savings, and Christmas bonuses.
Many teachers are anticipated to join those marching in Philadelphia to Thomas Paine Plaza, joined by leaders including Mayor Jim Kenney, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and SEIU President Mary Kay Henry.
The day of action is “not about trying to influence the decision, we recognize that’s not realistic,” says George Jackson, a spokesman for the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. “It’s a preemptive call to mobilization for all working people.”
In New York City, thousands of people will assemble in Foley Square to listen to Baxter Leach reflect on his experience participating in a 1968 strike by sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee.
Dr. Martin Luther King was campaigning on behalf of the strikers when he was assassinated, and Leach and others will highlight the connection that King drew between economic equality, union power and civil rights, said Gupta, the Jobs With Justice director and another speaker slated to address the New York City crowd.
“Our intention is to light that fire again and remind people that Dr. King’s work is not over,” she says. “This is actually a continuation of that fight.”
In Miami, immigrant rights will be a focal point at a rally with an expected to draw more than 500 people.
In Miami, immigrant rights will be a focal point at a rally with an expected to draw more than 500 people.
One young speaker will discuss living in the United States. as an undocumented immigrant and what it’s like facing deportation under Trump Administration policy, says Tomas Kennedy, political director of Florida Immigration Coalition.
Local unions have taken “a bold and ferocious stand” on behalf of immigrants, Kennedy says, in part because many of their members are Dreamers and refugees whose protected status is on the President’s chopping block, he said.
The moment has come for unions to “chart a different way forward and re-energize their base in a different way and start recruiting,” Kennedy says. “It’s about getting the community more involved.”
In the shadow of Janus vs. AFSCME, many public-sector unions have been trying to execute on this vision, stepping up member engagement to cement loyalty.
For example, Nickerson’s union has been recruiting and training new shop stewards, she says. SEIU Local 509, meanwhile, has won signatures from nearly 5,000 of its 8,300 members reaffirming their loyalty.
A 1977 Supreme Court decision established fair share fees to balance worker power with the right to free speech. Fair share fees negotiated between unions and public employers are legal in twenty-two states. But states with “right to work” laws ban fair share fees.
Says Gupta, “Working people are going to continue to fight for the opportunity and voice in our economy and our democracy, regardless of what the Supreme Court decides.”
Teke Wiggin (@tkwiggin) is a Brooklyn-based reporter who covers labor, technology and housing.