February 17, 2015
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s plan to end the union shop for state workers is "unconstitutional," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told CNBC on Feb. 10. “He's saying he wants to have people that don't pay for the services they get," Trumka said on the show Closing Bell. “They get a collective bargaining agreement and all the benefits under it and he says they don't have to pay for it. What he's doing is actually unconstitutional.”
If the government can force unions to provide representation for people who don’t want to pay for it, Trumka modestly proposed, then maybe workers shouldn’t have to pay taxes for the governor’s salary: “He's doing stuff to lower my wages and I don't want my wages lowered. Should I be able to withhold my taxes from him? Isn't that my First Amendment right as well?"
