There's a weird hypocrisy at the heart of the case against unions

Why unions should breathe an enormous sigh of relief over their unexpected Supreme Court victory

Teachers unions protest in January.
(Image credit: Jeff Malet Photography/Maletphoto.com)

Public employee unions dodged a bullet at the United States Supreme Court on Tuesday.

The case was all about "fair share" fees. Essentially, if a majority of government employees at a particular site (like a school district or fire department) vote to unionize, then the union becomes the representative for all those workers, and bargains on their behalf. Even workers who aren't union members reap the benefits of the union's efforts. This creates the potential for a "free rider" problem, in which a union collapses because a critical mass of workers realizes they can reap the benefits of the union without paying any union dues.

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Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.