Mandatory Union Fees Survive as U.S. Supreme Court Deadlocks

By Greg Stohr, Bloomberg News

The U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked in one of its highest profile cases, issuing a 4-4 ruling that lets more than 20 states continue to require public-sector workers to help fund the union that represents them.

Union opponents had looked to be on the brink of a watershed victory that would have conferred a First Amendment right for workers to withhold fees. Justice Antonin Scalia’s Feb. 13 death changed the dynamic, depriving that side of what probably would have been a fifth vote.

The case, which involved California teachers, could have affected as many as 5 ...