As much as old Evansville prides itself on its labor heritage, it and the rest of Indiana are firmly established now as a right-to-work state. Bolstering that standing, a federal appeals court has upheld Indiana's ban on mandatory union fees, further weakening labor's hold on the Hoosier state. According to the Associated Press, some actions remain; the federal ruling could be appealed, although no decision has been made, and on Thursday, arguments were offered in two state cases brought by labor out of Lake County.
Indiana's right-to-work law was passed after fierce debate and loud protest at the Indiana Legislature. The law bars unions from mandating that nonunion members pay fees to unions for representation. On the other side, unions are arguing that the law should bar anyone from being forced to provide a service for free, namely union representation.
In the court of appeals ruling, two of the judges said the state does not wrongfully take property from unions, and is therefore constitutional.
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, who is defending the state in federal and state cases, hailed the ruling, saying that now that the law has been shown to not violate federal law, it is likely the case will be shown to comply with state law as well. Of course, that requires that a federal appeal does not reverse the state law.
This fight has raged son since the before the law was passed in 2012, with proponents claiming the law with enhance economic development and opponents arguing it will further cripple the labor movement. It seems that both sides are right.
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