Michigan Supreme Court rules state employees don't have to pay union dues

The Michigan Supreme Court says state workers can't be forced to pay labor unions for negotiating contracts and providing other services.

In a 4-3 decision Wednesday, the court says the state Civil Service Commission lacks the authority to impose mandatory fees on about 36,000 of civil servants.

It's a big defeat for unions, especially the United Auto Workers, which have been collecting fees from state workers, even if workers didn't want full membership.

Michigan has had a right-to-work law since 2013. It says public and private employees don't have to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment.

A union coalition sued in 2013 on the grounds that the Michigan constitution gave the bipartisan Civil Service Commission, not the legislature, the power to "regulate all conditions of employment."

The Court, however, ruled the commission never had the power to mandate union fees in the first place. The power to tax, it pointed out, lies with the legislature.

In the dissent, Justice Mary Beth Kelly pointed out that the commission doesn't collect the fees; the union does, meaning the fees constitute a regulation of an employment activity and are not a "quasi-tax."

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press