role of the Supreme Court

Question 1

What was the Sherman Antitrust Act and when was it?

Answer 1

• 1890
• originally aimed at business monopolies to prevent trade from being restrained
• courts applied it to unions, claiming strikes and boycotts restrained trade

Question 2

What was In re Debs and when was it?

Answer 2

• 1895
• Supreme court upheld government intervention to end the Pullman Strike
• Ruled that strikes interfering with interstate commerce could be suppressed

Question 3

When was Lochner v New York and what was its impact on Trade Unions?

Answer 3

• 1905
• struck down laws limiting working hours
• ruled that limits violated ‘freedom of contract’

Question 4

How did the Supreme court undermine the Clayton Antitrust Act?

Answer 4

• courts often issued injunctions against strikes, claiming ‘public nuisance’ or ‘illegal interference with commerce’

Question 4

When Clayton Antitrust Act and what was it?

Answer 4

• 1914
• declared that labour unions were not illegal combinations in restraint of trade
• limited the use of injunctions against strikes

Question 5

What was the significance of Adair V United States and when was it?

Answer 5

• 1908
• Supreme Court upheld ‘yellow dog contracts’ allowing employers to require workers not to join unions

Question 6

When was the National Industrial Recovery Act and what was it?

Answer 6

• 1933
• recognised workers’ right to organise and collectively bargain
• led to growth in union membership

Question 7

When was the Schechter Poultry Corp v United States and what was the impact on trade unions

Answer 7

• 1935
• Supreme Court ruled the National Industrial Recovery act was unconstitutional

Question 8

When was the Wagner Act and what was it’s impact on trade unions?

Answer 8

• 1935
• Guaranteed workers’ rights to unionise and collective bargaining
• Created the National Labour Relations Board

Question 9

How did the Supreme Court rule on the Wagner Act?

Answer 9

• In NLRB v Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp 1937, SC upheld the Wagner Act

Question 10

When was the Fair Labour Standards Act and what was its impact on workers

Answer 10

• 1938
• established federal minimum wage and maximum hours
• banned child labour
• provided basic worker protections

Question 11

When was the Smith-Connally Act and what was it’s impact on trade unions

Answer 11

• 1943
• limited union power
• allowed federal government to seize industries threatened by strikes during war time
• made it illegal to strike in war industries without federal permission

Question 12

When was the Taft-Hartley Act and what was it’s impact on unions?

Answer 12

• 1947
• restricted union powers by banning closed shops
• allowed states to pass ‘right-to-work’ laws
• gave president power to intervene in strikes that endangered national healthy/safety

Question 13

When was the Landrum-Griffin Act and how did it affect trade unions?

Answer 13

• 1959
• aimed to combat corruptions within unions
• required unions to hold democratic elections and make financial disclosures
• protected union members but increased government regulation of unions