Does the First Amendment require government bodies to collect political funds for unions?

The Idaho Legislature passed the Voluntary Contributions Act in 2003, which prohibits state and local governments from using the public payroll system for collecting political contributions. In other words, public employees cannot have political contributions automatically withheld from their paychecks.

 

Several unions challenged the law as a violation of their free speech rights. Last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said that while the state could regulate its own payroll systems, it could not meddle in the affairs of local government bodies.

 

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation filed an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court in this case, warning that if the Court stikes down this law it could jeopardize many other legitimate labor regulations.

 

The Supreme Court heard arguments on November 3. The union attorney raised eyebrows when he suggested that unions would be entitled to using local government payroll deductions "in the state of nature."

 

For a full analysis of the case, click here.  

 

Click here to subscribe to Legally Speaking on iTunes.