National Nurses United

W ith any sort of U.S. Supreme Court case, it might seem at first glance that the decision itself is the final word on a conflict or issue. But in the case of Janus v. AFSCME, the determination by the court that employees represented by public- sector unions can legally shirk their duty to contribute dues is just a stop on the long road toward the corporate sector's final destination: the complete elimination of all labor unions and any regulations that would prevent an "anything goes" workplace environment dedicated to maximizing profit. The Janus decision did not just appear out of the blue. In fact, the Janus decision had originally been expected to come two years earlier in the form of Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, but Justice Antonin Scalia's death had denied the conservative arm of the court the necessary numbers for an anti-labor decision. Individuals and groups advancing conservative, corporate inter- ests have been steadily bringing lawsuits and challenges against unions for more than a half century now, slowly and steadily chip- ping away at workers' rights to bargain, to strike, and to create true worker solidarity by requiring that every employee join and con- tribute dues to the union (forming a closed shop). Some 28 states and Guam already have "right-to-work" state laws that outlaw closed shops. And in May, President Donald Trump issued three executive orders attacking federal government workers, which include National Nurses United's Veterans Health Administration nurses. Two of the orders were aimed specifically at unions and one at firing federal workers faster. Buoyed by Janus, these anti-union organizations and think tanks, funded by the ranks of the corporate elite, will continue their march toward making union work increasingly difficult. With the help of groups such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which drafts boilerplate pro-corporate and anti-worker legislation to shop Darkest before dawn Janus set the stage for further attacks on all union workers, but nurses are determined to use this crisis to grow the union and emerge stronger than ever. 10 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G J U LY | A U G U S T | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8

• Cover