Forced unionization wrong for caregivers

OC Register  "Pamela Harris is a self-employed in-home caregiver. The Illinois resident’s one and only patient is her severely disabled son, Josh, who has Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome, a rare genetic condition, and spends most of his waking hours in a wheelchair.

"Ms. Harris is the lead plaintiff in a case heard Tuesday by the U.S. Supreme Court; she’s challenging a 2009 executive order by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn mandating that the state’s in-home caregivers be union members. A decision from the high court is expected by June.

"Because the Land of Lincoln uses the federal Medicaid program to help pay for in-home care for patients, it provided Gov. Quinn a dubious pretext to categorize caregivers as state employees. That didn’t really register with Ms. Harris until a representative of the Service Employees International Union showed up at her front door." ...