Unions rally in Loop over 'fair share' case being heard before Supreme Court

Union workers rallied Monday in front of the Picasso statue in Daley Plaza to denounce a lawsuit being heard right about then in the U.S. Supreme Court -- one they called an open-and-shut case of union busting.

"This court case was cynically designed to try and weaken the voices and power of working people," said Kimberly Smith, a health care administrator and member of Service Employees International Union, Healthcare Illinois-Indiana, one of the organizers of the rally.

"In fact, destroying the union movement is what motivates (Governor Bruce) Rauner - it's all he thinks about before he goes to bed," Smith told a cheering crowd of about 100.

The case, Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, involves an Illinois worker, Mark Janus, and what are called "fair share" fees.

Unions are allowed to collect those fees from workers who are not dues-paying members of the union. The fees help pay for collective bargaining and other work the union does that benefits all employees covered by the contract, whether they are dues-paying members or not.

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