Feb 19, 2018

Neil Gorsuch holds key vote in labor union fee case

Khorri Atkinson

Neil Gorsuch testifies during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year. Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

President Trump-appointed Neil Gorsuch holds the key vote in a case to be heard next week over whether public-sector unions should require people who don't want to be union members to pay for collective bargaining, the AP reports.

Why it matters: Unions are major financial backers of Democratic candidates and causes across the country, and a rebuke from Gorsuch would deal a crushing blow to organized labor. Even though Trump overwhelmingly won support from white working-class voters, he had expressed support for the right-to-work movement. Per Politico, his administration sides with the plaintiff who's challenging the "fair-share fees." The Supreme Court had reached a 4-4 deadlock in 2016 on the issue following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

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