Justice Alito, who wrote the majority opinion, noted that she did not receive most of the benefits that full-fledged state workers get and essentially was not a state employee.
Justice Kagan, who wrote the dissenting opinion argued that they were essentially like state employees. In her opinion she goes on in lengthy detail to explain how they are similar.
She talks about the training they get being supplied by the unions and how they get a regular paycheck with taxes withheld just like regular employees.
Pamela Harris makes about $2100 a month. Roughly the same wage that many home health aides make who work for the opted not to be represented by the union.
My Commentary
Unions donate some of their money to political campaigns and usually it's Democrats on the receiving end. So anything that takes money away from unions has Democrats upset. That being said, they are fortunate to be getting paid what home health-aides make.
She is saving money for the state by taking care of her son,while at the same time costing the state a lot of money through the payments she receives. She should simply receive a non-taxable benefit for the money she is saving the state by not having the state take care of him. The idea that she should have to pay union dues because she wants to take care of her own child is absurd. The whole system of treating someone like a formal state employee just because they are receiving medicaid benefits seems rediculous.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/06/29/public-sector-unions-could-radically-change-this-week/?wp_login_redirect=0