SCOTUS Delivers a Crushing Blow to Rights of Union Workers

National Urban League President Marc H. Morial issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME:

“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court in Janus v. AFSCME has delivered a major windfall for the powerful interests of this country at the expense of hardworking Americans.  This decision will be a crushing blow to the livelihood and rights of workers in unions across this country.

“For African Americans—particularly black women who make up the largest share of the labor force–unions have long been a vehicle for recourse against discrimination and a path out of poverty to the middle class. Thanks to unions, workers of color have safer work environments, higher wages, civil rights protections and benefits that give them the best shot at prosperity.

“The choice to join a union has always been one that government workers are free to make and thanks to the hard work of unions, all workers have more rights, better protections, and the ability to use their agency as a source for change. This SCOTUS decision will allow for those who choose not to pay into the bargaining power of unions, to free-ride the system and reap the benefits of others’ buy-in for free.

“The National Urban League will continue to oppose decisions that directly threaten economic opportunity for people of color. We cannot and will not afford to have our workplace rights stripped back to the era of Jim Crow.”