1908: Labor Unions suck, Loewe v. Lawler 208 U.S. 274

[steve2470]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loewe_v._Lawlor

Loewe v. Lawlor, 208 U.S. 274 (1908), also referred to as the Danbury Hatters' Case, is a United States Supreme Court case concerning the application of antitrust laws to labor unions. The Court's decision had the effect of outlawing secondary boycotts as violative of the Sherman Antitrust Act, in the face of labor union protests that their actions affected only intrastate commerce.[1] It was also decided that individual unionists could be held personally liable for damages incurred by the activities of their union.

Prosecution of labor under antitrust laws would continue until the enactment of the Norris-La Guardia Act in 1932, which included express exemptions of organized labor from antitrust injunctions. These exemptions were upheld by the Supreme Court in United States v. Hutcheson (1941) where it was stated that the act should be read broadly to provide a total antitrust exemption for labor unions, "so long as [the] union acts in its self-interest and does not combine with non-labor groups." The majority opinion in Hutcheson was written by Felix Frankfurter who, before becoming a Supreme Court Justice, had served as one of the drafters of Norris-La Guardia.

Opinion here: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/208/274

[steve2470]

1. no comments on this ?

I think this decision shows how horribly anti-worker the elite of this country used to be, and still is, in some quarters.

[Omaha Steve]

2. Just now saw it

I was heading out to lunch with Marta, but had to comment first.

K&R!

Labor had an uphill fight until The New Deal. NOW we need a NEWER DEAL. The NLRB under Obama has done great work. Conservatives are doing all they can to stop that momentum!

OS