San Diego Building Trades Council v Garmon
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''San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon'', 359 U.S. 236 (1959), is a
United States labor law United States labor law sets the rights and duties for employees, labor unions, and employers in the United States. Labor law's basic aim is to remedy the "inequality of bargaining power" between employees and employers, especially employers "org ...
case, concerning the scope of
federal preemption In the law of the United States, federal preemption is the invalidation of a U.S. state law that conflicts with federal law. Constitutional basis According to the Supremacy Clause (Article VI, clause 2) of the United States Constitution, This ...
against state law for labor rights.


Background

Garmon had a business selling
lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
in
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. The San Diego Building Trades Council was a labor union that wanted Garmon only to hire workers who were union members, or applied to join the union within 30 days of beginning a job. Garmon refused, the union sent peaceful pickets to persuade customers and suppliers to stop dealing with Garmon. Garmon claimed that state law applied to grant damages against the Building Trades Council for picketing his business, and federal law did not apply. The Superior Court for the County of San Diego found that the union had acted unlawfully under state law, and enjoined the union from picketing until they had won an election and become a collective bargaining agent, awarding $1000 in damages. The NLRB declined jurisdiction for a representation hearing, "presumably because the amount of interstate commerce involved did not meet the Board's monetary standards in taking jurisdiction." The California Supreme Court held, because the NLRB declined jurisdiction, California courts had power over the dispute and the union committed an
unfair labor practice An unfair labor practice (ULP) in United States labor law refers to certain actions taken by employers or unions that violate the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (49 Stat. 449) (also known as the NLRA and the Wagner Act after NY Senator Ro ...
under § 8(b)(2) of the
National Labor Relations Act of 1935 The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, and ...
. The
US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...
then decided in '' Guss v. Utah Labor Relations Board'', that the refusal of the National Labor Relations Board to assert jurisdiction did not mean the states had power, and vacated the judgment of the California court. The California court set aside the injunction, but still granted an award of damages. It said this was based on tort for unfair labor practices under the Civil Code.California Civil Code, §§ 1667, 1708 The case was granted '' certiorari'' again to decide if the California court had jurisdiction to award damages arising out of peaceful union activity which it could not enjoin.


Judgment

The Supreme Court held that the
California Supreme Court The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sac ...
was not entitled to award remedies against a union for picketing, because if "an activity is arguably subject to §7 or §8 of the Act, the States as well as the federal courts must defer to the exclusive competence of the National Labor Relations Board". This was true, even though the NLRB had not given any ruling on the dispute "because the amount of interstate commerce involved did not meet the Board's monetary standards in taking jurisdiction..."
Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Austrian-American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, during which period he was a noted advocate of judic ...
gave the court's judgment.


See also

*
United States labor law United States labor law sets the rights and duties for employees, labor unions, and employers in the United States. Labor law's basic aim is to remedy the "inequality of bargaining power" between employees and employers, especially employers "org ...


References


External links

* {{caselaw source , case = ''San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon'', {{ussc, 359, 236, 1959, el=no , justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/359/236/ , loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep359/usrep359236/usrep359236.pdf , oyez =https://www.oyez.org/cases/1958/66 , other_source1 = Supreme Court (slip opinion) , other_url1 =http://www.worldlii.org/us/cases/federal/USSC/1959/66.html United States labor case law 1959 in United States case law United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Warren Court