American labor unions have long been bracing for a “post-Janus” future in which collecting dues would be harder than ever.

American labor unions have long been bracing for a “post-Janus” future in which collecting dues would be harder than ever.

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that government workers can’t be forced to contribute to labor unions that represent them in collective bargaining, dealing a serious financial blow to organized labor.

In Nevada, workers can already opt out of paying union dues and still reap the benefits of better wages and benefits and job security protections negotiated through collective bargaining. But Nevada’s “free rider” status didn’t stop labor organizations in the state from blasting the Supreme Court’s Janus decision as part of a deliberate attempt to destroy organized labor and make it even harder for working people to get by.

Supporters and opponents of organized labor are on tenterhooks this week awaiting a landmark Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME.

Monie Stewart-Cariaga recently decided to leave the townhouse she’s renting to buy a new home. For a single cocktail server, she couldn’t be in a better position to do it. Beyond the fair wage and tips she earns at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, Stewart-Cariaga plans to take advantage of a home-buying assistance program run by the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, the powerful union that represents service workers like her on the Vegas strip.

If 50,000 Culinary Union workers in Las Vegas follow through on a proposed strike starting Friday, the economic impact would extend far beyond the 34 affected Strip and downtown resorts, scholars said Wednesday.

Las Vegas is bracing for a potential strike by some 50,000 casino-hotel workers if an agreement cannot be reached between Culinary Union local 226 and representatives from 34 hotel and casino properties up and down the famous Sin City strip.