On Monday, The Oregonian published an editorial in response to the Freedom Foundation’s lawsuit filed on behalf of home healthcare provider Maryann Rose against Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and SEIU 503.
The Oregonian’s editorial board takes SEIU 503 to task for its refusal to let home healthcare providers exercise their First Amendment right to stop subsidizing the union. As the editorial deftly points out:
“…. her union’s treatment of Rose (and, according to Dagostino, many other workers like her) speaks volumes about its respect for the very workers it represents. Shouldn’t it be just as easy to quit a union and stop paying dues as it is to join and start?“
The Freedom Foundation’s lawsuit, filed in conjunction with the National Right-to-Work Legal Defense Foundation, seeks to validate Rose’s right to cease paying union dues.
In Harris v. Quinn, the United States Supreme Court held that forcing care providers like Rose to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment is an unconstitutional “scheme.” Before that June 2014 decision, SEIU 503 set in place another scheme to extend the length of time it could collect dues from care providers against their will.
The Oregonian even points out:
“Given the ease of signing up for membership and the difficulty of stopping dues payments, you have to wonder whether the SEIU consulted the playbook used by people who peddle cell-phone contracts. Or maybe it’s the other way around.“
We will keep you updated as this important case proceeds in federal court.