Cite as: 521 U. S. 457 (1997)
Souter, J., dissenting
ment despite use of language); Roberts v. United States Jaycees, 468 U. S. 609, 634 (1984) (opinion of O’Connor, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment) (in contrast to right of expressive association, "there is only minimal constitutional protection of the freedom of commercial association," because "the State is free to impose any rational regulation on the commercial transaction itself"); see also New York State Club Assn., Inc. v. City of New York, 487 U. S. 1, 13 (1988) (constitutional right of expressive association is not implicated by every instance in which individuals choose their associates); Dallas v. Stanglin, 490 U. S. 19, 25 (1989) (same); Ellis v. Railway Clerks, 466 U. S., at 456 (funding of union social activities, as opposed to expressive activities, has minimal connection with First Amendment rights).
Decisions postdating Abood have made clear, however, that its limited sanction for laws affecting First Amendment interests may not be expanded to cover every imposition that is in some way "germane" to a regulatory program in the sense of relating sympathetically to it. Rather, to survive scrutiny under Abood, a mandatory fee must not only be germane to some otherwise legitimate regulatory scheme; it must also be justified by vital policy interests of the government and not add significantly to the burdening of free speech inherent in achieving those interests. Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Assn., 500 U. S., at 519; accord, Ellis, supra, at 456.
Thus, in Lehnert eight Justices concluded that a teachers' union could not constitutionally charge objecting employees for a public relations campaign meant to raise the esteem for teachers in the public mind and so increase the public's willingness to pay for public education. See 500 U. S., at 528-529 (plurality opinion); id., at 559 (Scalia, J., concurring in judgment in part and dissenting in part). "Expression of this kind extends beyond the negotiation and grievance-resolution contexts and imposes a substantially greater burden upon First Amendment rights than do [collective-
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