Tim Evans and Tony Cook

The Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday upheld Indiana's "right to work" law, reversing a Lake County ruling that found the law violated the state constitution.

The law, supported largely by business groups and Republicans, prohibits unions from mandating that nonmembers pay fees to the unions for representing them.

Union supporters, who turned out in the thousands to protest at the Statehouse in 2012, say the law allows workers to gain union benefits without paying for membership.

In July, Lake County Judge George Paras ruled the law violated the Indiana constitution's prohibition against the state forcing anyone to provide a service — union representation in this case — for free.

State officials appealed and, because the challenge involved the constitutionality of a state law, the case was taken up by the Supreme Court. The Lake County ruling was placed on hold during the appeal.

In an order issued Thursday, the five justices unanimously agreed that "any compulsion to provide services does not constitute a demand made by the state."

The order noted: "The State and the Union dispute whether the challenged provisions of the Indiana Right to Work Law constitute a demand by the State for particular services under Section 21. The State argues that, literally, state law has not demanded the Union to do anything. The Union responds that its services are indirectly demanded by the State because the State is 'charged with the knowledge of the existence of the federal law which requires unions to represent every individual employee fairly.'<TH>"

But the justices disagreed with the union's argument.

"On the face of the Indiana Right to Work Law," the ruling said, "there is no statedemand for services; the law merely prohibits employers from requiring union membership or the payment of monies as a condition of employment."

The court added: "The Union's federal obligation to represent all employees in a bargaining unit is optional; it occurs only when the union elects to be the exclusive bargaining agent, for which it is justly compensated by the right to bargain exclusively with the employer."

The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in September also affirmed a federal district court ruling that upheld Indiana's "right to work" law.

The appeals court found the law is not pre-empted by federal law and doesn't violate the U.S. Constitution.

"Today's unanimous decision by the Indiana Supreme Court upholding Indiana's right to work law is a victory for the freedom of every Hoosier in the workplace," Gov. Mike Pence said in a statement.

"By this ruling, our Court has reaffirmed Indiana law that no Hoosier may be compelled to join a union as a condition of their employment but every Hoosier is free to join a union if they choose."

Indiana Rep. Jerry Torr, the Carmel Republican who authored the law, said the Indiana Supreme Court "got it right, as I anticipated they would."

He said he hopes the ruling puts the issue to rest. "I don't know what would be left to challenge," he said.

But James Sweeney, president of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, which brought the case, said the union will consider appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We maintain our commitment that this 'right to work' law forces Local 150 and other unions in Indiana to provide services without compensation," he said. "The Court's decision centered on its ruling that unions can form 'members only' bargaining units, which we know through decades of legal precedent to be unlawful. Because this decision is based on what we firmly believe to be a misinterpretation of federal law, we will consider petitioning the United States Supreme Court to hear this case."

Brett Voorhies, president of the Indiana AFL-CIO, said the ruling was expected, though "to be honest I didn't think it would be 5-0."

"Our whole argument is that it's about freeloaders," he said. "We're going to keep fighting."

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, whose office defended the challenge to the law, said the ruling "confirmed that the people's elected representatives in the Legislature were within their legal authority to craft an economic policy prohibiting involuntary union dues and this policy does not violate the Indiana Constitution."

"Though Hoosiers have differences of opinion on this issue," Zoeller said, "we all should show respect for the Court and the legal process by which laws are tested."

Patrick Semmens, vice president of the anti-union National Right to Work Foundation, called the ruling "a great day for workers in Indiana."

"The constitutionality of state Right to Work laws has long been a settled issue but unfortunately union bosses do not give up their special forced-dues powers easily," he said. "Fortunately, the Indiana Supreme Court has put an end to this legal challenge and ensured that Hoosier State employees cannot be forced to join or pay tribute to a union as a condition of employment."

Call Tim Evans at (317) 444-6204. Follow him on Twitter: @starwatchtim