After Janus Ruling, States Rush to Make It Harder to Leave Unions

Even before the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to public unions in June, some states were making moves to soften that potential blow.

In May, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill that limits the amount of time government employees can withdraw from their union. They now have just 10 days a year -- the ones immediately following their work anniversary -- to make that decision.

The ruling in the case, called Janus v. AFSCME, makes it illegal to require public workers who choose not to join the union to pay so-called agency fees to the unions that represent them in collective bargaining negotiations. It immediately impacts 21 states where the practice was still happening and is expected to cause unions to lose members -- and money -- because there is less incentive to belong to a union if they can get the same benefits without paying a nickel.

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