Supreme Court to hear case on unions, non-member financial requirements

(CNN)The Supreme Court will wade into a clash between organized labor and conservative groups Monday in a case that could overturn decades-old precedent and deal a potentially crippling blow to public sector unions. At the center of the debate is a 1977 Supreme Court opinion known as Abood v. Detroit Board of Education that says while non-members of public sector unions cannot be required to pay fees for a union's political activities, they can be required to pay so-called "fair share" fees pertaining to issues such as employee grievances, physical safety and training. The Abood decision was a careful compromise when it came down 41 years ago, but in recent years, some conservative members of the Supreme Court have publicly questioned whether it should be overturned. Today, 22 states have laws on the books that allow broad fair share fees for public employees. 

Source: Yahoo News