Judge: USW Challenge to Indiana Anti-Union Law Can Go Forward

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Oct 18, 2012, 12:13 ET

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Lake County, Indiana, Circuit Court Judge George Paras ruled on Tuesday that the United Steelworkers' (USW) legal challenge to Indiana's new anti-union "right-to-work" law can go forward.

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The USW filed a lawsuit arguing that the law, which requires unions to represent workers who are receiving the benefits of union membership without contributing to the costs, is a violation of Article 1, Section 21, of the state constitution. That clause states: "No person's particular services shall be demanded, without just compensation."

In denying the state's motion to dismiss the challenge, Judge Paras wrote that "it cannot categorically be said at this time" that the law does not violate the Indiana Constitution. The decision means that the case may proceed to a full hearing on the merits of the union's argument that the "right-to-work" law, signed into law in February, should be struck down.

Jim Robinson, Director of USW District 7, which includes the state of Indiana, noted, "We are pleased by this decision and look forward to seeing this unjust law, which is bad for Hoosier workers and does not represent our Midwestern value of accepting personal responsibility, be struck down by the courts."

The USW represents about 850,000 workers in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean in a wide variety of industries, ranging from glassmaking to mining, paper, steel, tire and rubber to the public sector, service and health care industries.

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)