The future of public-sector unions hinges on the vote of Neil Gorsuch

JUSTICES of the Supreme Court rarely announce what they are going to do before ruling. But Justice Antonin Scalia’s death two years ago has made open books of eight justices in Janus v American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), a case that could kneecap America’s labour movement. When Mr Scalia died, he and his colleagues were poised to decide whether unions could charge public workers “agency fees” even if they did not become members. The remaining justices deadlocked 4-4, leaving in place a lower-court decision that upheld the fees under Abood v Detroit Board of Education, a precedent dating from 1977.

Now Neil Gorsuch, Mr Scalia’s replacement, holds the key vote in Janus. But with a spotlight on his chair during the oral argument on February 26th, Justice Gorsuch had an apparent bout of stage fright. While his colleagues sparred over forced subsidies, free speech and the merits of Abood—which holds that mandatory fees preserve “labour peace” and prevent cheapskates from free-riding on their dues-paying colleagues—Justice Gorsuch sat mum.