The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 on June 1, 2023, that the deliberate damage of corporate property by a union as a pressure strategy during a strike is not protected by federal law.
Destroying corporate property when engaged in a labor dispute, according to labor advocates, is legal and protected by the law. However, as Matthew Vadum of The Epoch Times pointed out, businesses including concrete producer Glacier Northwest joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs.
With the implementation of this new judgment, businesses will have the ability to sue striking unions and hold them liable for the harm they do while on strike.
The firm has the right to sue the union in state court as a result of the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Glacier Northwest Inc. versus International Brotherhood of the Teamsters Local Union Number 174 (court file 21-1449).
In this decision, Justice Amy Coney Barrett penned the majority opinion. Additionally, Justices Samuel Alito, as well as Clarence Thomas, submitted concurring opinions. Only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson expressed disagreement.
The dispute began in August 2017 when cement mixer truckers decided to protest Glacier by going on strike. The vans were filled with cement and left on the property of the business.
According to the union’s description of the events, the drivers kept the engines of the trucks running to prevent the cement from setting too rapidly, making it worthless, and perhaps harming the drums of the trucks.
The union, the corporation said in its complaint, “coordinated with truck drivers to deliberately schedule a strike while concrete was being batched as well as delivered” in an effort “to cause destruction to the concrete.”
Author: Scott Dowdy
