In the case of Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid (2021), the taking doctrine was modified, redefining permanent taking. This now mandates the government to provide just compensation for allowing union workers on private land to monitor migrant workers for three hours daily.

Here are the straightforward facts: Cedar Point Nursery, a strawberry farm, filed a lawsuit when union workers entered the property to engage in unionization activities. The landowner sought a declaratory judgment and an injunction, asserting that this constituted a taking and an unreasonable seizure under the Constitution.

The key question at hand is whether the California regulation, which grants union workers access to private property for union activities, fall under the category of a per se taking as defined by the Fifth Amendment’s Taking Clause.

In a 6 to 3 vote, the clear ruling is that the California regulation allowing union workers access to private property constitutes a per se taking under the Fifth Amendment’s Taking Clause.

The majority ruling came as a surprise to the dissenting liberal justices. What made it so unexpected was the majority’s decision to redefine the doctrine. Historically, a “taking” involved a tangible, physical action such as an easement or government placement of a nail on your property. However, the majority redefined the doctrine of a taking to now mean a property right to exclude. This change left the dissenting justices quite confused and frustrated.

By now, it’s essential to address the enduring issue of historical inequality. Throughout history, inequality has persisted, a viewpoint consistently emphasized by Marxist thinkers across generations. Given this reality, labor unions strive to establish fairness within workplaces and promote overall equality. It can be argued that unions, in their pursuit of equality, help perpetuate the enduring presence of inequality that has existed over time. In this perspective, unions can inadvertently support and manage capitalist interests by normalizing societal inequality by their very existence, so long as one is a union member.