in response to

i commend to your attention republican suffolk county legislator kevin mccaffrey president of teamster local 707 that represents nassau otb employees, public ermployees

do you bet horses ?

Mark Janus, center, who sued his public sector union, outside the Supreme Court with Gov. Bruce Rauner of Illinois.CreditAndrew Harnik/Associated Press

To the Editor:

Re “Supreme Court Deals Blow to Labor Unions” (nytimes.com, June 27):

Ironically, unions’ value to workers was made clear by the Supreme Court in the Janus decision on Wednesday. The court said that in public-sector workplaces where unions are present, employees no longer have to pay fair-share fees. This means that workers no longer have to pay for their unions to negotiate better wages, benefits, pensions and working conditions.

But unions are still required by law to represent nonpaying workers at the bargaining table and in grievances at work.

We can safely assume that neither Mark Janus, the plaintiff in the case, nor any other objector to fair-share fees, is willing to renounce his union-won paychecks and other benefits. They just don’t want to pay for them.

There will always be people who want value but don’t want to pay for it. But no one benefits when those who take value refuse to contribute anything.

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That’s not what America is made of. This country was built by those who stood up, stood out and stepped forward.

FRED REDMOND
PITTSBURGH

The writer is international vice president of the United Steelworkers.