COUNSEL
Jeffrey B. Demain, Altshuler Barzon LLP, San Francisco,California, for the defendant-appellant.W. James Young, National Right to Work Legal DefenseFoundation, Inc., Springfield, Virginia, for the plaintiffs-appellees.
OPINION
THOMAS, Circuit Judge:This appeal presents the question of whether a union isrequired, pursuant to
Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson
, 475U.S. 292 (1986), in addition to an annual fee notice to mem-bers, to send a second notice when adopting a temporary,mid-term fee increase. Under the circumstances presented bythis case, we conclude that a second notice is not required,and we reverse the judgment of the district court.IACongress has long recognized the “important contributionof the union shop to the system of labor relations.”
Locke v.Karass
, ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 798, 803 (2009) (quoting
Abood v. Detroit Bd. of Ed.
, 431 U.S. 209, 222 (1977)). TheSupreme Court has underscored this Congressional policy byenforcing the right of a union, as the exclusive collective-
19878K
NOX
v. C
ALIFORNIA
S
TATE
E
MPLOYEES
A
SSOCIATION
Case: 08-16645 12/10/2010 Page: 3 of 43 ID: 7575454 DktEntry: 24-1