This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Thursday, July 2nd, 2015.

I'm Caleb Brown.

The Supreme Court has agreed to take a case that may have profound implications for public sector unions

and the workers who are compelled to support them. Andrew Grossman, an adjunct scholar at the

Cato Institute, evaluates the case of Fridrix versus California Teachers Association.

There are two questions before the court.

The first is whether public sector labor unions in conjunction with public sector employers can exact union dues from

public workers. And the second question is whether with respect to those

exactions whether employees who don't want to contribute political funds or possibly

even any funds at all to the labor union can be required to opt out of doing so rather than the union being required to obtain their affirmative

consent.

Part of the issue then is whose burden it is in order to make the decision that they want.

That's exactly right.

In this context, unlike every other one,

the current law pretty much assumes that public sector employees are willing to simply waive their First Amendment rights.

That they may or may not agree with what the union is saying on their behalf.

They may or may not agree with even the political determinations that the union makes. on their

and agree with even the political determinations that the union makes. And the law will simply presume that they're willing to waive their rights and subsidize that speech

and give the union their consent to do so.

So what is the status of the law on this question?

I know that the Supreme Court has heard several cases in recent years that speak to this issue,

but where are we now?

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