A coalition of 22 state attorneys general is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold existing law that protects the right of public-sector unions to collect “fair share” fees from workers who do not choose to join the union but are covered by collective-bargaining agreements that benefit them.

The high court’s decision in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association has grave implications for organized labor throughout the country, said New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is leading the coalition that filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case.

“This case has the potential to undermine the vital protections that unions provide in New York, Connecticut and other states,” Schneiderman said at a Nov. 15 press conference on the steps of City Hall, where he was surrounded by labor leaders and elected officials.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew said the Friedrichs case was the handiwork of right-wing operatives intent on destroying unions and the rights they have won for teachers and other working people.

“It’s a systemic attack by a small group of people to obtain more power and wealth for themselves at the expense of everyone else,” he said. “It is an attack on the middle class and working people of this country. This is America. People have a right to organize and to have their voices heard.”

The 10 teachers who are plaintiffs in the case are being represented pro bono by the Center for Individual Rights, a law firm that has received millions of dollars in funding from conservative foundations.

Groups including the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice have filed friend-of-the-court briefs on behalf of the Friedrichs plaintiffs. Those groups argue that the act of collective bargaining with the government is, in itself, a political activity that violates the free speech rights of workers who do not wish to be members.

“The corporate CEOs behind Friedrichs want nothing more than to silence working people and break the scales which are already tilted in their favor,” said Mario Cilento, the president of the New York State AFL-CIO. “They know when working people join together they have the power to improve their wages, benefits and working conditions and that scares them deeply.”

In addition to New York, the attorneys general signing onto the amicus brief hail from Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington state, Alaska and Hawaii.