Foreword
Unions, and the money theycontrol, are key players in the modern American political process. Because insome professions union dues or equivalent fees are compulsory, the U.S. SupremeCourt has ruled that payers can request that the percentage of their dues usedfor political purposes be returned to them. This “opt out right was first affirmed by the Court in InternationalAssociation of Machinists v. Street (1961) and reinforced by RailwayClerks v. Allen (1963). In Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977),the right was expanded to non-union public employees who were required to pay“agency fees to unions even though they chose not to…
