Dean Vikram Amar was a guest on the October 10th episode of Illinois Public Media's The 21st. He spoke with host Niala Boodhoo about this term's Supreme Court cases, particularly the case regarding public sector unions that originated in Illinois. The issue at stake is whether state employees should have to pay a "fair share fee" to a union even if they’re not members.
Amar discussed his predictions for how this case might play out in court, the intersection of labor law and the First Amendment on this particular case, and how Justice Gorsuch is likely to rule.
"If the Court is really worried about the politics element, it could just move from an opt-out to an opt-in regime. But if the Court thinks that the collective bargaining activity is essentially political as well, then it will say the First Amendment protects people from having to give anything to the union, and that will really hurt unions' ability to operate going forward," he said.
Listen to the full segment.