Supreme Court Shake Up

At the beginning of the year, unions were dreading a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in a case known as Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association (CTA). At issue were “fair-share fees” charged to California teachers who do not wish to join their union. The fees compensate the union for the costs of representation and contract negotiations the union incurs on behalf of non-members. The fees are permitted by a 1977 Supreme Court decision known as Abood v. Detroit Board of Education.

Observers of the oral arguments in the Friedrichs case agreed that, based on the questions Justice Antonin Scalia asked and his previous rulings, a 5-4 Supreme Court decision overturning the Abood decision was imminent. Teachers’ unions were bracing for a decision that would allow Friedrichs to avoid paying fair share fees while continuing to reap many of the benefits of union membership.

A decision overturning Abood would set the stage for more attacks by anti-union groups. Corporate-backed organizations would go after union membership in their never-ending assault on organized labor and working Americans.

This bleak outlook was flipped on its head when Scalia passed away before the court made a decision in the Friedrichs case. The court split 4-4 on the case, upholding the lower court’s ruling, which allowed fair share fees for California teachers.

While shifting the extremely conservative Supreme Court more toward the views of most Americans, the Scalia vacancy may also have a great effect on Congress doing its job.

Immediately after Scalia’s death, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) announced that they would not hold confirmation hearings on any Obama nomination for the high court.

These two lawmakers took the nonsensical position that the president should not fill a Supreme Court vacancy in the last year of his presidency, which the president is mandated to do under our Constitution.

The Republican-controlled Senate has refused for years to fill judicial vacancies, disrespecting both the Constitution and President Obama. This affront triggered Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to warn McConnell that if the GOP refuses to hold a hearing on an Obama nominee, Reid and his fellow Democrats in the Senate would use their filibuster power to stop all work of the Senate, effectively shutting down the legislative branch of the government.

This would prevent needed legislation from being considered, including quality postal reform, and could also force federal workers to face another government shutdown.

There is precious little time for McConnell to end his efforts to derail the president from performing his constitutional duties and for the majority leader to do his, by having a hearing and a vote on the president’s Supreme Court nominee.

He only has to look at Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy to find a Supreme Court justice confirmed in the last year of a president’s term. Kennedy was nominated by Republican President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by a Democrat-controlled Senate.

With only 23 working days on the Senate’s calendar between July 15 and Nov. 14, there is simply no time for these partisan shenanigans and the collateral damage to working Americans it will wreak.

Marcotte Appointed Health Plan Director

As this issue of The American Postal Worker went to press, John Marcotte was appointed Health Plan Director. (See p. 15.)

“During my tenure as Legislative and Political Director, we have made many strides for the betterment of the APWU and I want to thank each of you for your assistance in achieving these gains.” – John Marcotte