The thoroughly-undemocratic U.S. Supreme Court has struck a vicious blow against labor. In the recent case, Janus v. American Federation State, County, and Municipal Employees, the court ruled 5-4 to impose a so-called “right to work” framework on public sector unions across the country. The ruling says that government workers who are not union members cannot be required to pay union dues, union fees, etc., at their unionized workplace. Anti-worker right wingers claim that this is about free choice and that it will save non-union members some money. The truth is that a strong union helps non-union workers by giving all workers more leverage against the capitalist bosses. Whether a worker is in a union or not, they benefit in the long run as the union wins pay raises, benefits, and more for union and non-union workers alike. The Janus decision is not just anti-union, but anti-worker. This is part of the relentless class war waged by the capitalist class against the working class. In the face of Janus and other assaults, the working class cannot go along with business as usual. What is needed is organization, militant struggle, and a revolutionary world outlook. We should, of course, not forget that the teachers strike that spread across multiple, supposedly-conservative states this past spring was actually illegal in most of these states (state lawmakers had attempted to prevent public sector workers, like teachers, from striking). These teachers set an example of militant defiance in the face of legal hurdles, and the entire impetus came from the grassroots efforts of the school workers themselves. They have shown that, despite setbacks, we must push ahead.
Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite!