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New York Assemblyman Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan) introduced legislation this week in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus vs. AFSCME, which stripped public sector labor unions of the right to collect fair-share dues to cover collective bargaining costs. The proposed legislation would allow unions to include collective bargaining costs in contracts with government agencies to replace fair share dues that last week’s SCOUTS decision banned. Under the plan, public employees would forgo pay raises to subsidize collective bargaining fees. The Albany-based conservative think tank Empire Center obtained a copy of Gottfried’s proposal that was reportedly distributed it to state lawmakers across New York. Writing for the center’s blog, Ken Girardin denounced the proposal, calling it a “terrible policy” that would inevitably lead to tax payer’s getting stuck with union bargaining costs. Gottfried responded to the criticism by refuting the underlying assumption that Unions have close allies in state government who are easily influenced, citing the fact that Unions often go for years without a contract because they cannot reach an agreement with the public employer.