The Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO issued this statement by President Pat Eiding on today's Supreme Court decision in the Janus v. AFSCME Council 31 case:
Today, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in the Janus case. As many expected, a narrow majority of the Court has issued a broadside attack on the well-being of workers and on democracy in the workplace. And make no mistake: this decision is nothing more than another phase in a longtime campaign by the forces of wealth and privilege to destroy America’s labor movement.
The labor movement stretches back centuries in this country and stretches out beyond the borders of our nation as well. Working women and men in past generations faced the greatest imaginable challenges when they stood together for their interests: armed company goons, sometimes working with the support of state or local governments; courts that refused to recognize the legitimacy of labor unions; an unsympathetic media. Nevertheless, working people persisted. We stood together against every challenge and built vibrant, diverse, democratic labor unions, and those unions in turn lifted tens of millions of American workers out of poverty and into dignity. We are the engine of the most productive economy in the world. We built this country’s middle class.
So, while I am gravely disappointed in the 5-4 decision in the Janus case, I am not worried about our labor movement. Working people will continue to stand together, to organize democratically, and to stand up to massive corporations and to the privileged and powerful. History is on our side. And despite the opinion of 5 justices in Washington, our solidarity remains unbroken.