Indiana’s Supreme Court justices suggested in oral arguments Thursday that unions’ problem with the state’s Right to Work law isn’t with the state – it’s with the federal government.
Indiana’s Right to Work law bars union contracts that require non-members pay fees for representation. Unions argue the statute violates a section of the state constitution that says a person can’t be forced to provide services without just compensation.
Indiana Solicitor General Thomas Fisher says the unions’ exclusive collective bargaining rights are that fair compensation.
“That’s why they seek exclusive representation status, because there is that ability to have the leverage of being the sole negotiator with the employer," says Fisher. "So that is worth a tremendous amount.”
Justice Mark Massa suggested it’s not the state demanding services without compensation; it’s a federal labor law that requires unions to represent even non-members.
“The remedy here then is write your congressman," says Massa. "If you don’t like having to carry free riders, take it up with Congress; it’s not a state constitutional issue.”
Union attorney Dale Pierson says the federal requirement to represent non-members existed before Indiana’s passage of Right to Work.“The state of Indiana is presumed to know that that’s the existing landscape and that those obligations are imposed upon unions by federal law,” he says.
The Supreme Court did not announce a timetable for its ruling.
