Posted on 09/28/2017 9:13:11 AM PDT by reaganaut1
Last year, West Virginia became the 26th state to enact Right to Work legislation. The bill was enacted over the veto of then-governor Earl Ray Tomblin, as I discussed in this piece.
Organized labor almost invariably launches desperate legal challenges when states enact RTW and West Virginia was no different. The state’s AFL-CIO looked around for a friendly circuit judge and found one in Kanawha County’s Jennifer Bailey. The argument they presented was that the RTW law would do them “irreparable harm” and should be stayed pending a challenge to its constitutionality.
The unions argued that the law is unconstitutional because 1) it takes the property of labor unions without just compensation – a Fifth Amendment violation; 2) because it interferes with their First Amendment right of association; and 3) because it takes away liberty from union officials.
Even though similar arguments have been tried and found unpersuasive by many courts in the past, Judge Bailey entered an injunction against enforcement of the law, stating that an injunction was warranted because she found it “likely” that the AFL-CIO would ultimately prevail with their claims. Judge Bailey’s order was promptly appealed.
In Morrisey v. West Virginia AFL-CIO, the state’s Supreme Court reversed her order in a forceful opinion by Justice Ketchum.
On the First Amendment claim, Justice Ketchum wrote that while there is no doubt that union workers enjoy constitutionally protected rights of assembly and association, “We see nothing in Senate Bill 1 (the RTW statute) that prevents a person from making a voluntary choice to associate with a union or pay union dues.”
Exactly right – the First Amendment protects Americans against governmental coercion that interferes with their rights.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Forcing people to be in a union and forcibly taking money from their pay to go to the union is wrong, unconstitutional, and illegal even if there are laws that allow it - those laws are invalid.
Today, unions are evil.
Especially public unions.
I know in the early days they needed the muscle, but sleeping with the Mafia rarely turns out well.
Believe me.
Take a look:
She’s #2 following some turd with three chins!
http://www.courtswv.gov/public-resources/press/circuitJudgesMasterList.html
Pretty foul, making the claim that union dues yet to be paid are already yours.
More proof (as if any more was needed) that the judiciary has been poisoned with lawyers who think that leftwing dogma trumps duly enacted legislation.
It was especially interesting to note the union’s argument that this law would harm them by “taking” their property without compensation-by which they meant, dues money that they haven’t yet collected (or forced) from employees. That’s the mindset of the left in a nutshell, no private property, it all belongs to them.
Hey.....us persons of three chinedness resent that.
“Hey.....us persons of three chinedness resent that.”
Sorry, I am also appalled at the phalanx of fat nurses I see on my visits to the doctor too.
That would be Patrick Morrisey, our Attorney General who is now running for US Senate.
More activists judges. Thankful we have the votes on the Supreme court to override this horrible activist who wants the people of the United States to be controlled.
We must ensure we keep our freedom despite these activist judges trying to take our freedoms away from us and force collectivism upon us.
JoMa
What property was taken from the unions with RTW? Do they consider the person their property or just all their money?
Apparently, in their sick minds, unions have rights but individuals don’t.
I really hate communists.
The unions argued that the law is unconstitutional because 1) it takes the property of labor unions without just compensation – a Fifth Amendment violation; 2) because it interferes with their First Amendment right of association; and 3) because it takes away liberty from union officials.
It's interesting that they said that without the slightest hint of irony. Those same three arguments could be used to argue much more strongly why forced unionization should be illegal everywhere. It takes away the workers' property. It interferes with the workers' rights to freely not associate with the union. And it takes away liberty from the workers.
Black robed, lawless creatures, fight proper law. Thank you SCOTUS for correcting this creature. It would be better if there were jail for judges like this.
Michigan SOS union employees are particularly vile pieces of excrement......!
Wow, Mennis Ketchum is on this court. He built a nice home less than a block away from where I went to high school.
RTW law would do them “irreparable harm”
Or even better, repealing Prohibition did irreparable harm to makers of grape bricks used to make home made wine. Should Prohibition have been reinstated?
Make Right to Work a law across the USA. No union dues.
I’ve learned through multiple incidents to NEVER trust a woman named “Jennifer”. Bad news all the way.
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