The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has sent a strongly worded brief to the Supreme Court that urges justices to reject so-called right-to-work measures that church leaders argue decimate unions, undermine workers' rights and clash with centuries of Catholic social teaching.
In one of the most closely watched cases on the court's docket this year, Janus v. the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, an Illinois state employee sued the union arguing that he should not have to pay union dues. A decision in favor of the employee would have dire implications for a labor movement that has seriously weakened in recent decades, even as corporate power and income inequality grows.
More than two dozen states now have right-to-work laws, which means that unions and employers in those states are prohibited from requiring workers to pay union dues that cover collective bargaining and other services that benefit workers.
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