Union Challenges Duty to Represent ‘Free Riders’ at 7th Circuit

A federal appeals court in Chicago will consider whether public-sector unions can refuse to represent nonmembers who don’t pay fees to cover collective bargaining costs and other expenses, in a case brought by one union but opposed by several others.

The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150’s argument relies on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, which said forcing nonmembers to pay such “agency fees” to public-sector unions violates those workers’ First Amendment rights. The obligation to represent those free-riding nonmembers similarly violates the free speech and associational rights of public-sector unions and their ...