PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island officials and labor unions are blasting the Supreme Court’s decision that government workers can’t be forced to contribute to labor unions that represent them in collective bargaining.
Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo called Wednesday’s decision “part of a larger effort to weaken labor and diminish the middle class.” She said if any changes are required, they will make them at the bargaining table.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said the decision indicated “a cancer on the credibility of the court,” while Democratic Rep. David Cicilline said the deciding vote came from what he called “a stolen Supreme Court seat.”
The Rhode Island Alliance of Social Service Employees vowed to remain united, while the union representing faculty at the University of Rhode Island called it a corporate-funded attack on public employees.
