By CAP Action War Room

The Roberts Court Sides With Corporations And CEOs Over Average Citizens

The Supreme Court’s final decisions of the term came today, and in the now established tradition of the Roberts Court, they strike another blow to working Americans. In Harris v. Quinn, the five conservative justices undermined public sector unions by barring homecare workers in Illinois from collecting fair share fees to ensure that everyone shares in the cost of bargaining. And in the closely watched Hobby Lobby case, the same five male justices gave unprecedented power to for-profit employers to make health care decisions for their female employees.

Both rulings were handed down from a split court along ideological lines. The majority opinions for both were authored by Justice Samuel Alito, who is considered to be the most business-friendly justice ever; number two is his colleague, Chief Justice John Roberts.

Here’s a little chart that demonstrates how business interests are racking up the Supreme Court wins in the Roberts Court more than ever before:

Let’s go through each case where the court chose to trample on the rights of the people at the expense of the powerful:

Harris v. Quinn

Public sector unions bargain on behalf of all of their workers — even if a particular worker does not belong to the union. Typically, non-members pay a fair share fee to ensure all employees, regardless of whether they are members of the union, receive the collectively bargained-for benefits. In Harris v. Quinn, the Roberts court ruled 5-4 that some Illinois home-care workers who did not want to join the union but still saw their wages rise thanks to collective bargaining are exempt from having to pay those fees. The decision weakens the ability for public sector unions to bargain on behalf of their workers. When staffing and safety decisions are taken out of the hands of the first responders that know them best and put into the hands of politicians and corporate CEOs, that makes us all less safe.

The court did not go as far as to entirely agree with the anti-union plaintiffs; the plaintiffs sought to essentially end unions as we know them by arguing that it is unconstitutional to require any non-union members to pay to reimburse unions that bargain on their behalf. By contradicting previous rulings and acting in an activist manner, however, the court left the door open to future rulings that further weaken unions, hurt middle class workers and put more power in the hands of corporations and CEOs.

That makes it more important than ever for working Americans to stand up like they have at fast-food strikes around the country and negotiate for the rights, freedom and dignity they deserve. A single court ruling doesn’t negate our obligation to keep fighting to restore the American middle class.

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby

Bosses should not be able to interfere with a woman’s access to affordable birth control. Period. But today, five men sitting on the Supreme Court decided that they do. The majority ruled 5-4 that owners of for-profit, secular businesses who have religious objections to birth control may defy federal rules requiring that they include contraceptive care in their employees’ health plans because it violates the employer’s religious liberty rights.

The decision is an example of judicial activism that benefits corporations at its worst. Think Progress Justice Editor Ian Millhiser explains:

For many years, the Supreme Court struck a careful balance between protecting religious liberty and maintaining the rule of law in a pluralistic society. Religious people enjoy a robust right to practice their own faith and to act according to the dictates of their own conscience, but they could not wield religious liberty claims as a sword to cut away the legal rights of others. This was especially true in the business context. As the Supreme Court held in United States v. Lee, “[w]hen followers of a particular sect enter into commercial activity as a matter of choice, the limits they accept on their own conduct as a matter of conscience and faith are not to be superimposed on the statutory schemes which are binding on others in that activity.”

With Monday’s decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, however, this careful balance has been upended. …The rights of the employer now trump the rights of the employee.

Let us clarify: Religious liberty is the right to practice religion as you wish and the freedom to not have religion imposed on you by others, especially corporations.

The reality of the decision is that while it was celebrated on the right as protecting people of faith, it actually hurts them: a substantial majority of almost every major U.S. Christian group support the idea that corporations like Hobby Lobby should be required to provide employees with healthcare plans that cover contraception and birth control at no cost. Moreover, Julia K. Stronks, an evangelical Christian and political science professor at Whitworth University, points out the irony that “although the owners of these for-profit corporations oppose the contraceptive requirement because of their pro-life religious beliefs, the requirement they oppose will dramatically reduce abortions.”

There is no doubting the slippery slope of the Hobby Lobby case when it comes to businesses using religious liberty to deny any number of rights to individuals. We must being to work now to re-establish a meaningful and appropriate religious liberty in America.

BOTTOM LINE: Today’s Supreme Court rulings from five conservative justices use judicial activism to benefit corporations and CEOs while hurting workers and women. The Roberts Court’s friendliness to corporate interests and the powerful at the expense of regular Americans is continues to be unprecedented, and it continues to be critical that progressives use every available avenue to fight back.

Some other things I’ve read this week: Felix Salmon’s explanation of why he’s joining Fusion, an interview with David Leonhardt about The Upshot, and updates about detained Vice reporter Simon Ostrovsky. Also, congratulations to Digby for a well-deserved award.

John Whitehouse
Twitter: @existentialfish

Riding The Reverse Racism Unicorn

This week, the Roberts court attacked another race-conscious law. Conservatives responded by attacking established civil rights laws as a form of “reverse racism.” Meagan Hatcher-Mays explains how they are defending the systematic favoring of wealthy whites in the admissions process: http://mm4a.org/1hkWji1
Related: Five things you need to know about the Court’s affirmative action decision: http://mm4a.org/Qw32vp The right is also pushing lies about President Obama’s proposed clemency program:http://mm4a.org/1lCMEY8

The Racist Tirade Of A Conservative Media Hero

The right-wing media spent a long time promoting Cliven Bundy’s dispute with the federal government, even though Bundy was completely in the wrong. Will anything change now that Bundy has made virulently racist statements? http://mm4a.org/1ropemt
Related: This vile rhetoric is strikingly similar to remarks from conservatives from Rush Limbaugh to the WSJ editorial board: http://mm4a.org/1f7jTQz

FEATURED VIDEO

Jon Stewart blasted Sean Hannity’s transparently hypocritical support of scofflaw Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy: http://mm4a.org/QufpZ0

“NEAR WORTHLESS” OBAMACARE REPLACEMENT

Fox’s Ben Carson has a plan to replace Obamacare. Experts told Media Matters‘ investigative reporter Joe Strupp that it would be a disaster for everyone but the very rich: http://mm4a.org/1i8UuFI

IMAGE OF THE WEEK

Mark Ruffalo Speaks Out On The Right To Choose

Americans born between 1981 and 2010—the Millennial Generation (MY generation)—will see a massive increase in the number of days over 95° in the course of our lifetimes.

As we grow older, blistering, life-threatening heat waves will become the norm—just as we age into the demographic group most vulnerable to heat-wave-related deaths. Risky Business projects an additional 11,000-36,000 people will die of heat-related conditions per year in the Southeast alone, where residents will experience an additional 4 months of 95° and hotter days each year.

This is what the climate crisis will mean. But, it’s only part of the story. We’re already seeing more severe heat-waves and wildfires, drought and floods, storm surges and coastal flooding. There is literally not one corner of this country or the planet not already feeling the effects of global warming.

It’s a monumental task. But, there is good news. Right now, thanks to the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, we have the best chance we’ve ever had to slash carbon pollution from America’s fossil-fuel-burning power plants, the largest source of carbon pollution in the country. That’s important. And with your help, we’re going to win the fight to implement these common-sense, life-saving standards.

So please, take this opportunity for your generation, my generation, and all future generations. Make a donation today to our $3-for-$1 Summer Match Campaign to quadruple the value of your support.

Let’s solve this crisis together, now, while there’s still time.

Thank you for all your support,

Emily Stevenson
Manager, Online Membership