Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerks Union

In Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerks Union, 398 U.S. 235, 251, 90 S.Ct. 1583, 26 L.Ed.2d 199 (1970), the union called a strike despite the existence of a clause in its collective bargaining agreement requiring that labor disputes be resolved by arbitration. 398 U.S. at 253, 90 S.Ct. at 1594. The district court entered an injunction against the strike. The Supreme Court affirmed the district court's determination that "the dispute was subject to arbitration under the collective bargaining agreement and that the strike was in violation of the contract." Id. at 240, 90 S.Ct. at 1586-87. The Court focused on the purpose of the Norris-LaGuardia Act ("NLGA"), explaining that "a refusal to arbitrate was not 'part and parcel of the abuses against which the [NLGA] was aimed.' " Id. at 242, 90 S.Ct. at 1588 (quoting Textile Workers v. Lincoln Mills, 353 U.S. 448, 458, 77 S.Ct. 912, 918-19, 1 L.Ed.2d 972 (1957)). While the NLGA was aimed at correcting "the abuses that had resulted from the interjection of the federal judiciary into union-management disputes on the behalf of management," arbitration raises no such concern. Id. at 251-53, 90 S.Ct. at 1592-94.