Request to rehear tied union case rejected

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has turned down a long-shot request to hold new arguments in a major labor union case that ended in a 4-4 tie.

The justices on Tuesday denied without comment a petition from a group of California teachers urging the court to reconsider the case once a new justice is confirmed.

The court almost never rehears cases. It would have taken five justices to agree to a rehearing.

The tie vote in March was a victory for unions in a case they once seemed all but certain to lose before Justice Antonin Scalia died in February. The deadlock left in place a nearly four-decade-old practice that lets
public-sector unions collect fees from non-members to cover collective bargaining costs.

The teachers claim the fees infringe free speech rights.