ALBANY, N.Y. (June 27, 2018) — Today, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 that public-sector unions cannot require employees to pay union fees.

For schools, that means that school districts will no longer be able to require their employees that are not dues paying members to pay fees to the unions that negotiate on their behalf. The ruling may lead to decline in the unions’ power to protect working class New Yorkers.

In response to the decision, the Alliance for Quality Education released the following statement:

“Public sector unions are at the core of our democracy and education system. They ensure that teachers, school staff and other public sector employees can collectively bargain to protect workers’ rights. Union bargained protections for educators often lead to benefits for their students. Having caps on class sizes and teacher planning time built into the work day are benefits for educators that have a positive impact on student achievement. In states where collective bargaining has already been restricted, it negatively impacted not only teachers and employees, but also student achievement. This decision is an unprecedented right wing attack on our communities. It will exacerbate economic inequality and hurt working families and our democracy,” said Jasmine Gripper, legislative director, Alliance for Quality Education.