Teachers’ unions across the country are facing such discussions as they deal with the fallout of the June 27 Supreme Court decision that now prohibits labor unions from automatically collecting fees from public workers who decline union membership. Janus vs. A.F.S.C.M.E. dealt a stinging blow to teachers’ unions in particular, which are projected to lose up to a third of their members.

It has become important fodder in the fight to confirm Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court because Democrats argue that past nominees’ solemn promises to abide by court precedent were belied by the majority’s vote to overturn past rulings in the Janus case.

More pressing for the teachers’ unions, the ruling jeopardizes a funding stream that has made them political heavyweights for decades. In that sense, Janus has been a rude awakening for the lumbering union giants that some say have lost touch with the educators they are supposed to lead.

“Since they’ve built up this big political muscle, organizing has been less necessary because they have money and power,” said Evan Stone, a founder of Educators for Excellence, a teacher-led advocacy organization. “This whole effort to reconnect is only happening because of Janus, and it should have been happening the whole time.”

The American Federation of Teachers and its state affiliates like the New York State United Teachers are hoping to counter Janus with aggressive “recommitment” campaigns. The union has focused on 18 states with the largest numbers of public employees. The day before the Janus decision came down, they reported that of the 800,000 members in those states, they had secured more than 500,000 membership cards over the past five months.