'Workers chose to stick with their unions' despite Janus ruling
Washington – The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) recently submitted its annual membership numbers to the Department of Labor, showing a gain of 9,097 dues-paying members and 18,638 dues-paying retirees over the union’s report last year, suggesting the efforts by the billionaires and corporations behind the Janus v. AFSCME case and the anti-worker majority of the United States Supreme Court to “defund and defang” public service unions have fallen flat.
The report is the first since the Supreme Court’s Janus v. AFSCME ruling, which held that requiring fees from public service workers who receive union benefits but choose not to join the union is unconstitutional. In the wake of the decision, the report shows that, overall, the union retained 94 percent of workers it represents, including both dues-paying members and fee payers.
According to the report, AFSCME represents 1,329,594 working members, agency fee payers in the private sector and retirees, compared to 1,411,877 reported last year. Though this represents a bottom-line decrease of six percent thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision, it crushed union analysts’ expectations, which anticipated a loss upwards of 30 percent.
“In overwhelming numbers, AFSCME members have blunted the attacks of the wealthy special interests and chose to stick with their union,” said Lee Saunders, president of AFSCME.
https://labortribune.com/workers-chose-to-stick-with-their-unions-despite-janus-ruling/