Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson issued the following statement today on the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the Janus v. AFSCME case, which overturns the 1977 Abood decision:
“Once again, this conservative-majority court sided with anti-worker forces and issued a ruling designed to undermine public sector unions. In a 5-4 decision, the court overturned a unanimous decision from 40 years ago. By compromising the ability of law enforcement, sanitation workers, educators and other public employees to collectively organize, this court and these special interests are taking us backwards to a time when workers had to resort to enormously disruptive strikes and walk-outs in order to make their voices heard.
“The reality is that all workers benefit from strong unions and their bargaining activities. Washington has been and will remain a state that believes in and supports the rights of all workers to organize, in both the public and private sector.
“Organized labor fights for Washington state’s strong middle class. Thankfully, the working men and women in Washington state are resilient, and we are confident organized labor will come through this fight stronger than before.”
Inslee and Ferguson have previously spoken out about this case in an op-ed: Court should preserve union ‘fair share’