Boom! Lawyered: The Racist Ideology Neil Gorsuch Will Use to Break Unions

In the latest episode of Boom! Lawyered, Rewire's #TeamLegal experts Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo discuss a Supreme Court case that could spell the end of public sector unions as we know them.

In the latest episode of Boom! Lawyered, Rewire‘s #TeamLegal experts Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo discuss a Supreme Court case that could spell the end of public sector unions as we know them. Who is bringing this case and why? Which justice could be the one to swing the wrecking ball? And why do conservatives always talk about the “right to work” when trying to end unionization? Answers to those questions and more await you on Boom! Lawyered.

An edited excerpt:

Imani: “Right to work” enthusiasts say that the constitutional right to freedom of association protects workers and allows them to decide whether or not to be part of the union. They say that it’s unfair that unions can force employees to become union members and pay dues for services they may not want or support. They talk about “right to work” because it dovetails nicely with their endless blathering about liberty. But one thing they don’t want you to know about is the racist roots of the founder of this right to work nonsense.

Jess: Well, generally, conservatives don’t like to talk about the racist roots of their nonsense, which is why they’re always yammering about how Democrats created the KKK as if the Southern Strategy never happened.

Imani: So a lot of folks don’t know that the “right to work” movement was fueled by Texas businessman and noted white supremacist, Vance Muse. Muse believed that right to work would help crush unions and maintain segregation and white supremacy. He once said that without the right to work, “white women and white men will be forced into organizations with black African apes whom they will have to call ‘brother’ or lose their jobs.”

Jess: I’m sorry, he said what now?

Imani: Yeah. “Black African apes.” Oh, and he also aligned with the KKK to oppose FDR’s New Deal, as if the New Deal was great for Black people in the first place. But I digress…

Transcript (PDF)