Governor Bruce Rauner was in the room as the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments today (Monday, February 26, 2018) in the case of Janus vs. AFSCME.
The Rauner administration wants to change the law that requires public employees to pay dues even if they aren’t in a union. It is a practice that has gone on in America for the past 40 years, according to the governor.
In 2015, the Rauner administration issued an executive order making it illegal for public sector unions to collect dues from government workers who opted out of a union. It was also during 2015 that the case of Rauner vs. AFSCME was filed in federal court. But when a federal judge ruled that, as governor, Rauner did not have standing to represent workers in the suit, Mark Janus, an employee of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services stepped in.
‘’No person should be forced to give up a portion of their pay each month to fund public sector union activity,’’ says Governor Rauner. ‘’It’s a fundamental violation of cherished American rights to free speed and association,’’ added the governor.
