Education Won’t Solve Inequality

“As labor rights advocates anxiously await Supreme Court judgment in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31—which would bar unions from automatically deducting dues for ‘fair share’ fees and drastically reduce the ability of unions to support their efforts—just last week, on May 21, the Supreme Court unveiled a decision that bans class-action lawsuits for violations. Justice Ginsburg, writing for the dissenters in last week’s case, argued that the result will be a continued underenforcement of the very laws that are meant to help workers. Unions have been a critical aspect of upward mobility and building an American middle class, making blue-collar jobs well-paying, with good benefits and sufficient time off. But lax enforcement of labor laws and a hostile business environment have made it difficult for unions to maintain their membership and keep up with the changing structure of the labor market.”