Baker et al. v. General Motors Corp. et al. (478 U.S. 621)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided July 2, 1986 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 478 U.S. 621 · 106 S. Ct. 3129
- Decided
- July 2, 1986
- Term
- October Term 1985
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. In Michigan an employee is ineligible for unemployment compensation if he has provided “financing” — by means other than the payment of regular union dues — for a strike that causes his unemployment. The question presented by this appeal is whether Michigan’s statutory disqualification is implicitly prohibited by § 7 of the National Labor Relations Act. This case has a long history. Two appeals to the State Supreme Court and a series of administrative proceedings have determined the relevant facts and the meaning of the governing statutory provision. Before addressing the federal question, we shall therefore summarize the events that gave rise to the controversy and the propositions of state law that were resolved on each appeal. The Relevant Events The story begins in June 1967, when the international union representing the work force in the automobile industry notified the three major manufacturers — General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler — that it intended to terminate all national and local collective-bargaining agreements when they expired on September 6, 1967. In August, after the UAW and GM had opened negotiations for a new national agreement, the members of the Union employed by GM voted to authorize strikes, if necessary, on national and local issues. When the agreements expired, the UAW began a national strike against…
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