Illinois Day Care Workers Seek Repayment of Union Dues

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning an Illinois law requiring non-union home health workers to pay fair-share union fees has prompted a federal lawsuit by day care owners seeking a refund of millions of dollars in past payments.

The class-action lawsuit by two southern Illinois women names Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois & Indiana as defendants. It was filed in August in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

The legal challenge comes as the first-term Republican governor aggressively aims to curtail labor unions' political influence.

A judge dismissed Rauner as a plaintiff in another federal suit over the forced fees paid by state workers to cover the costs of contract negotiations and grievance disputes. The case continues with three non-union state workers as plaintiffs.

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