Order of Railway Conductors of America v. Southern Railway Co. (339 U.S. 255)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 10, 1950 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 339 U.S. 255 · 70 S. Ct. 585
- Decided
- April 10, 1950
- Term
- October Term 1949
- Vote
- 7–1
- Majority author
- Justice Black
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Black delivered the opinion of the Court. This case raises the same statutory question as Slocum v. Delaware, L. & W. R. Co., ante, p. 239, The petitioner, Order of Railway Conductors, is the only accredited bargaining representative of conductors employed by the respondent Southern Railway. A dispute arose between certain conductors and the railroad concerning the railroad’s obligation under the collective-bargaining agreement to give conductors extra pay for certain services. The claims of the conductors were referred to the union, which sought by negotiation to persuade the railroad to pay. The railroad refused, and thereafter prayed a South Carolina state court for a declaratory judgment interpreting the agreement as not requiring the claimed payments. The trial court first refused to exercise jurisdiction. Citing Order of Conductors v. Pitney, 326 U. S. 561, it held that state courts, like federal courts, should leave settlement of such disputes to the National Railroad Adjustment Board. The State Supreme Court reversed, holding that the state court did have power to interpret the bargaining agreement and adjudicate the dispute. 210 S. C. 121, 41 S. E. 2d 774. After a lengthy trial the lower court held that the collective agreement did not require the compensation sought by the conductors and entered the declaratory judgment requested. The Supreme Court…
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