UAW calls Supreme Court union ruling an 'attack on working men and women'

• The United Auto Workers union called Wednesday's Supreme Court decision "another barrier and another attack on working men and women."
• While private-sector unions have declined in influence over time in the U.S., public-sector unions are still a force.
• The UAW represents public-sector workers at several levels of government and in public institutions, such as universities.

The Supreme Court ruling that nonunion workers can't be forced to pay fees to public-sector unions is "just another barrier and another attack on working men and women," the United Auto Workers union said on Wednesday.

"It cannot, however, take away the powerful voice that UAW members and other unions deliver when they sit across the table and collectively bargain for their families, their safety and their communities," said the statement from UAW president Gary Jones.

The court decided in favor of Mark Janus, an employee at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Human Services, who asked the court to overturn a decades-old ruling requiring nonunion public-sector employees to pay fees amounting to a portion of full union dues. Federal employees are already exempt from the rule, but it affects workers at other levels of government.

While private-sector unions have declined in influence and membership over time in the U.S., public-sector unions are still relatively strong. Though it might be known among many people as primarily a union for workers in the auto industry and similar sectors, the UAW does represent public workers at the state and county levels and in public universities, among others.

Here is the full statement from the UAW:

“Today’s Supreme Court Janus decision is yet another effort to put obstacles in front of working men and women to join collectively behind the power of a unified voice.

To be clear, labor will survive. But to be equally clear, our elections do matter, as the appointment of conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch by the Republican- led Senate left little doubt about the outcome of this decision. The Janus decision is just another barrier and another attack on working men and women. It cannot, however, take away the powerful voice that UAW members and other unions deliver when they sit across the table and collectively bargain for their families, their safety and their communities.

You cannot silence the voice of so many American families who want a seat at the bargaining table. The UAW and the rest of labor stand together no matter what obstacle.”