Utah's voluntary contributions act: defunding the UEA
Abstract
This article seeks to understand Utah’s current legal and political battle with its public employee unions. First, the article introduces the current situation and then provides the historical context of unions, which culminates in attempts in the recent years to apply Beck rights as well as to defund the unions’ political war chests. The article then presents in detail Utah’s efforts to enact paycheck protection legislation, the political situation surrounding those attempts, and the court battles that followed. Victor Brudney’s article in the William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal on volitional advocacy and association is then summarized and applied to Utah’s Voluntary Contributions Act and its Amendments. This article concludes that Utah’s paycheck protection legislation is consistent with the national movement to defund unions who tend to oppose conservative ideas, but has valid measures that would constitute sound policy if enacted in conjunction with commensurate measures for all associations.Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
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