‘But Gorsuch’ Is More Than a Slogan

U.S. Supreme Court’s Janus deliberations will likely usher in a substantive and lasting victory over noxious power of public-sector unions.

March 1, 2018 Steven Greenhut

We’ve got a box of red balls at the office imprinted with a simple line drawing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and the words, “But Gorsuch.”

Whenever someone complains about President Donald Trump — and I routinely complain about his crude personality and some of his policies — we can chuck the ball at the wall and remind ourselves of a redeeming feature of his presidency. It was a fun idea, courtesy of the think tank that employs me. This hasn’t relieved much stress, but reading about the latest high-court deliberations and realizing that Gorsuch is on the court has done wonders for my soul. This week, the court began oral arguments in Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

The case centers on these questions: Should public-sector workers be forced to pay dues, even though they might vigorously oppose the agenda of their union representatives? Does this violate their First Amendment rights?

Practically speaking, this case could — and probably will — dramatically roll back the power of government unions in non-right-to-work states. My writing focuses on California, where such unions essentially control all levers of government. The results are clear: massive pension and other debts to pay for crazy levels of public-sector compensation, the obliteration of public budgets and services, the protection of bad teachers and other workers........To Read More.....