Chicago City Wire

The U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that approximately 5 million government workers nationwide should not be forced to pay dues to public employee unions. 

Now, state employees are starting to see benefits from that ruling. According to a recent report from the Illinois Policy, the average state worker pays union dues fees in excess of $700 annually. Those dues are now optional to the approximately 35,000 public employees in Illinois workplaces organized by AFSCME as well as in other public sector positions, such as teachers and police, where union fees were once mandatory.

In the landmark case, Janus vs. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), plaintiff Mark Janus, a former child support specialist at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, alleged that his First Amendment rights were being violated because he was forced to pay dues to a union he wanted nothing to do with.

On June 27, the high court agreed, handing down a 5-4 ruling that was decades in the making.

As a result, the State of Illinois almost immediately stopped taking out the "fair share" fee that government employees who had opted out of their unions still had to pay.

Are you a State of Illinois employee who has opted out of your union? If so, we want to hear from you.

To share your story, email news@chicagocitywire.com or call us today at (877)-535-5447 Ext. 713.