The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that employers can use state funds to campaign against union organizing drives as long as they do not use force or coercion, overturning a 2000 California state law. The Court ruled the original law violated federal labor law by limiting employers' free speech and expression. The dissenting Justices felt the law did not limit employers' freedom to discourage unionizations, simply that company's could not use state funding from certain grants for such efforts.
See "Court rules bosses can speak against unions", Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, June 22, 2008