The U.S. Supreme Court has accepted an appeal of a high court ruling in the state of Washington that struck down a paycheck-protection initiative enacted by the voters there in 1992. The measure prevented labor from using dues collected from nonmembers in union shops to be used for political purposes without their consent. The state¹s largest teacher union, the Washington Education Association, challenged the law, which had put a major crimp in its political fundraising (it turns out that most workers don¹t want their hard-earned money spent on political causes with which they might strongly disagree). Washington’s high court preposterously ruled that paycheck protection had placed undue burdens on the free speech of WEA members.

Now, next year, the Supremes will get a chance to clarify matters, perhaps showing a bit more interest than their state colleagues did in the plight of workers forced by labor law to pay union dues despite the fact that they don’t want union representation and the political entanglements that all too often come with it.