After City of Chicago v. Morales: If Youth "Hang Out" on the Street, Are They Breaking the Law? Related Issues Click on any of the following links for more information on issues related to Chicago v. Morales. Racial Profiling   Community Policing   The Labor Movement Racial Profiling “Driving While Black,” by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair (CounterPunch) Press Release from the Office of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold House of Representatives Bill Targeting Racial Profiling-Traffic Stops Statistics Study Act of 1999 “Driving While Black: Racial Profiling on Our Nation’s Highways” An American Civil Liberties Union Special Report (June 1999) Community Policing CAPS: Chicago’s Alternative Policing Strategy Community Policing Consortium Success Stories The Labor Movement Timeline of Key Court Decisions and Legislation on Labor During the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries 1806    Commonwealth v. Pullis, Mayor’s Court of Philadelphia (1806) Leaders of the Philadelphia cordwainers [shoemakers] society [union] arrested during a strike and charged with conspiracy. Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled cordwainers’ combined to illegally conspire to regulate all workmen in the city and were guilty of conspiracy. 1842    Commonwealth v. Hunt, 45 Mass. (4 Metc.) Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled unions are legal organizations and strikes a legal weapon. 1887     Interstate Commerce Act To regulate railroads; court interpreted strikes and labor unions as discriminating against interstate commerce under the act and issued anti-strike injunctions. 1890     Sherman Antitrust Act To regulate trusts. Unclear if it was intended to apply to labor combinations, the railroads, or other industry. Courts applied it to labor unions and strikes and issued anti-strike injunctions. 1895      In re Debs, 158 U.S.564 (1895) American Railway Union boycott of Pullman Company railway cars. Unanimous U.S. Supreme Court upheld injunctions and contempt of court convictions of national boycott leaders including Eugene Debs, a Socialist Party and labor leader. 1914     Clayton Antitrust Act Human labor no longer defined as a commodity or an article of commerce. Stated labor combinations were not illegal combinations to restrain trade. Forbade labor injunctions unless strikes would injure property. Court interpretations continued to view labor as commodity and issue labor injunctions. 1932      Norris-LaGuardia Anti-Injunction Act Forbade injunctions to prevent strikes, boycotts, and picketing or keep anti-union employment contracts. 1933      National Industrial Recovery Act Was designed to revive industrial and business activity and reduce unemployment in response to the Great Depression. Included a section that guaranteed labor’s right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their choice. 1935      Schetchter Poultry Corp. v. U.S., 295 U.S.495 (1935) U.S. Supreme Court ruled National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional. The Act gave the President unconstitutional power, so the whole act was unconstitutional. 1935      National Labor Relations Act Legislated employees’ right to join labor organizations and bargain collectively. Defined unfair employer bargaining practices. Established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), to oversee union elections at workers’ request, and hold hearings about unfair labor practices. Issued “cease and desist” orders to employers. 1937      NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp., 301 U.S. 1 (1937) Court ruled the federal government could punish corporations involved in interstate commerce that refused to bargain with employee unions because of the national need for industrial peace. 1939 Hague v. Congress of Industrial Organizations, 307 U.S. 496 (1939) The U.S. Supreme Court ruled union organizers who were U.S. citizens could hold public meetings and distribute union leaflets. The National Labor Relations Act (1935) made it government policy to encourage collective bargaining, protect freedom of association and the rights of workers to unionize, and negotiate work conditions through representatives of labor’s choice. The court wrote citizenship “would be little better than a name if it did not carry with it the right to discuss national legislation.” 1940      Thornhill v. State of Alabama, 310 U.S.88 (1940) U.S. Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional an Alabama law outlawing picketing . Ruled open discussions about labor were protected by the First Amendment free expression guarantees and were “indispensable to the effective and intelligent use of the processes of popular government.” 1947 Taft-Hartley Act Banned the closed shop (closed shop clauses in contracts prohibited employers from hiring nonunion members); allowed employers to sue unions for breaking contracts or damages during a strike; required unions to observe a 60-day cooling period before striking; forbade union contributions to political campaigns; required union leaders to take an oath swearing they weren’t Communist Party members. >>The Case Home >>Legal Background >>Related Cases >>Interest Groups >>Chicago Context >>Gangs >>Activities/Lessons >>News Accounts >>Related Issues Fall 1999 Summit Home | The Case | Summit | Pilot Classrooms | Discussion | Experts Student Poll | Students Only National Online Youth Summit Home