By Jon Coupal, President – Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association – July 2, 2018 – 

Early in World War II, Nazi Germany pounded Great Britain from the air for months in what was known as “The Battle of Britain.” It was a certainty that the bombing campaign was the precursor to a German invasion. When Germany failed to make England succumb, the bombing campaign ceased. At that point, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

This week’s Supreme Court ruling in Janus v. AFSCME is one of the most important decisions in decades. Simply put, the high court ruled that public employees cannot be forced to pay so-called “agency fees” to a union as a condition of employment, because compelled support for the union violates the employees’ right of freedom of speech under the First Amendment.

The ruling, in effect, renders California a right-to-work state for public-sector employees. Because public-sector unions, including the California Teachers Association, Service Employees International Union and dozens of others have used compelled dues to dominate California’s political environment with vast amounts of campaign money, the decision will, over time, have a big impact in the state.

But we need to stress “over time” because the changes won’t be immediate. So, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, this may not be the beginning of the end for unfair political advantage, but it is the end of the beginning.