As a condition of employment, can U.S. federal, state or local governments force individual workers who are not union members to be represented by unions?
Correct Answer
Under a 1944 Supreme Court ruling and federal and state laws, governments can force individual workers in unionized workplaces to be represented by unions, regardless of whether they are union members. Per the 1944 ruling, these workers do not have the "freedom" to negotiate "better terms" with their employers. This differs from Western Europe, where employees and employers are generally free to negotiate with each other. The recent Supreme Court ruling in Janus v. AFSCME prohibited governments from forcing public-sector workers who are not union members to pay union dues, but it does not stop governments from forcing them to be represented by unions.
DocumentationForcible Union RepresentationJanus v. AFSCME