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News10: Supreme Court ruling on union dues causing confusion

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – After the Supreme Court ruling in the Janus case regarding union fees, there has been some confusion on what has actually changed, prompting the state to release guidelines to help answer any questions.

In the weeks following the Supreme Court ruling that public employees no longer have to pay union dues, the teacher’s union says they have only seen only nine people leave their union so far. 

“About 86 percent of our members have resigned a brand new card and we’re working on all the others. So we’re in really good shape,” Andy Pallotta, President of NYSUT, said.

Many people have been confused about what exactly this Supreme Court ruling means to them, causing the NY Department of Labor to issue a set of guidelines.

The president of New York’s Federation of Unions from across the state says is necessary to help stop misinformation. 

“It was necessary yesterday for the governor to lead the charge to clarify exactly what the Janus decision said and all the protections working men and women really have,” Mario Cilento, President of New York State AFL-CIO, said.

The Empire Center for Public Policy released a report saying that some of the guidelines are wrong. For example, it says that unions do not have to provide membership cards to employers, which Ken Girardin says goes directly against state law. 

“If the governor gave this kind of advice to a paying client, he’d likely face malpractice charges.” 

They are not the only ones issuing warnings to public employees, and hundreds of thousands of letters have been sent out explaining employee options, in light of this Supreme Court ruling. 

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