NLRB v. Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co.
| NLRB v. Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co. | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Argued April 5–6, 1938 Decided May 16, 1938 |
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| Full case name | National Labor Relations Board v. Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co. |
| Citations | 304 U.S. 333 (more) |
| Prior history | On appeal from the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit |
| Holding | |
| Striking workers continue to be employees within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act, and an employer commits an unfair labor practice when it replaces striking workers with new employees | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Roberts, joined by Hughes, McReynolds, Brandeis, Butler, Stone, Black |
| Cardozo and Reed took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
| Laws applied | |
| National Labor Relations Act | |
NLRB v. Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co. 304 U.S. 333 (1938) is a 7-0 decision by the United States Supreme Court which held that workers who strike remain employees for the purposes of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The Court granted the relief sought by the National Labor Relations Board, which sought to have the workers reinstated by the employer. However, the decision is much better known today for its obiter dicta in which the Court said that an employer may hire strikebreakers and is not bound to discharge any of them if or when the strike ends.
The Mackay doctrine, as the striker replacement portion of the ruling is known, is one of the most significant Supreme Court rulings in American labor law, and has defined collective bargaining in the United States since its publication. "Mackay Radio was more than a decision that provided an instrumental method for a firm to replace economic strikers and to resist their return to employment after a strike. It was also a decision that established important practices that constituted the conduct of union-management bargaining during the post-New Deal Era."
The ruling is also highly controversial, even 70 years later. It is strongly and uniformly condemned by labor unions, and resolutely defended by employers. In the legal community, however, "the doctrine continues to provoke the notice and the nearly universal condemnation of scholars."
The Mackay Radio & Telegraph Company was founded in 1884 by John William Mackay (a wealthy silver mine owner) and James Gordon Bennett as the Commercial Cable Company with the goal of providing transatlantic telegraph service. Mackay next incorporated the Postal Telegraph Company to expand the system across the continental United States. In 1901, Mackay formed the Commercial Pacific Cable Company to provide cable telegraphic service across the Pacific Ocean. Although Mackay died in 1902, his son, Clarence Mackay, continued to head the company. In 1925, Clarence Mackay founded Mackay Radio, and added a radio network to the telegraph business. In 1928, the Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co. merged with its two cable siblings and All America Cables to form the American Cable & Radio Corporation. The majority shareholder in the new company was the International Telephone & Telegraph Co.
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