Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/410/396/
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 08:24:53+00:00

Document:
The Hobbs Act, which makes it a federal crime to obstruct interstate commerce by robbery or extortion, does not reach the use of violence (which is readily punishable under state law) to achieve legitimate union objectives, such as higher wages in return for genuine services that the employer seeks. Pp. 410 U. S. 399-411.
STEWART, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BRENNAN, WHITE, MARSHALL, and BLACKMUN, JJ., joined. BLACKMUN, J., filed a concurring opinion, post, p. 410 U. S. 412. DOUGLAS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BURGER, C.J., and POWELL and REHNQUIST, JJ., joined, post, p. 410 U. S. 413.
"Extortion" is defined in the Act, as "the obtaining of property from another, with his consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear. . . ." 18 U.S.C. § 1951(b)(2).
Company to agree to a contract with Local 2286 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers calling for higher wages and other monetary benefits."
Five specific acts of violence were charged to have been committed in furtherance of the conspiracy -- firing high-powered rifles at three Company transformers, draining the oil from a Company transformer, and blowing up a transformer substation owned by the Company. In short, the indictment charged that the appellees had conspired to use and did in fact, use violence to obtain for the striking employees higher wages and other employment benefits from the Company.
"The union had a right to disrupt the business of the employer by lawfully striking for higher wages. Acts of violence occurring during a lawful strike and resulting in damage to persons or property are undoubtedly punishable under State law. To punish persons for such acts of violence was not the purpose of the Hobbs Act."
Id. at 646. The court found "no case where a court has gone so far as to hold the type of activity involved here to be a violation of the Hobbs Act." Id. at 645.
We noted probable jurisdiction of the Government's appeal, 406 U.S. 916, [Footnote 1] to determine whether the Hobbs Act proscribes violence committed during a lawful strike for the purpose of inducing an employer's agreement to legitimate collective bargaining demands.
as the Government acknowledges, any violence or force to obtain property is "wrongful." [Footnote 3] Rather, "wrongful" has meaning in the Act only if it limits the statute's coverage to those instances where the obtaining of the property would itself be "wrongful" because the alleged extortionist has no lawful claim to that property.
Construed in this fashion, the Hobbs Act has properly been held to reach instances where union officials threatened force or violence against an employer in order to obtain personal payoffs, [Footnote 4] and where unions used the proscribed means to exact "wage" payments from employers in return for "imposed, unwanted, superfluous and fictitious services" of workers. [Footnote 5] For in those situations, the employer's property has been misappropriated. But the literal language of the statute will not bear the Government's semantic argument that the Hobbs Act reaches the use of violence to achieve legitimate union objectives, such as higher wages in return for genuine services which the employer seeks. In that type of case, there has been no "wrongful" taking of the employer's property; he has paid for the services he bargained for, and the workers receive the wages to which they are entitled in compensation for their services.
the members of a New York City truck drivers union who, by violence or threats, exacted payments for themselves from out-of-town truckers in return for the unwanted and superfluous service of driving out-of-town trucks to and from the city. The New York City teamsters would lie in wait for the out-of-town trucks, and then demand payment from the owners and drivers in return for allowing the trucks to proceed into the city. The teamsters sometimes drove the arriving trucks into the city, but, in other instances, the out-of-town truckers paid the fees but rejected the teamsters' services and drove the trucks themselves. In several cases, there was evidence that, having exacted their fees, the city drivers disappeared without offering to perform any services at all. Id. at 315 U. S. 526. See also id. at 315 U. S. 539 (Stone, C.J., dissenting). The Court held that the activities of the city teamsters were included within the wage exception to the Anti-Racketeering Act although what work they performed was unneeded and unwanted, and although, in some cases, their work was rejected.
"This bill is designed simply to prevent both union members and nonunion people from making use of robbery and extortion under the guise of obtaining wages in the obstruction of interstate commerce. That is all it does."
"[T]his bill is made necessary by the amazing decision of the Supreme Court in the case of the United States against Teamsters' Union 807 3 years ago. That decision practically nullified the anti-racketeering bill of 1934. . . . In effect, the Supreme Court held that . . . members of the Teamsters' Union . . . were exempt from the provisions of that law when attempting by the use of force or the threat of violence to obtain wages for a job, whether they rendered any service or not."
case showed that 'these stick-up men disappeared as soon as the money was paid without rendering or offering to render any service.' Id. at 11907. And Congressman Rivers characterized the facts of the Local 807 case as 'nothing short of hijacking, intimidation, extortion, and out-and-out highway robbery.' Id. at 11917. [Footnote 11]"
But by eliminating the wage exception to the Anti-Racketeering Act, the Hobbs Act did not sweep within its reach violence during a strike to achieve legitimate collective bargaining objectives. It was repeatedly emphasized in the debates that the bill did not "interfere in any way with any legitimate labor objective or activity"; [Footnote 12] "there is not a thing in it to interfere in the slightest degree with any legitimate activity on the part of labor people or labor unions. . . ." [Footnote 13] And Congressman Jennings, in responding to a question concerning the Act's coverage, made it clear that the Act "does not have a thing in the world to do with strikes." Id. at 11912.
"Mr. MARCANTONIO. All right. In connection with a strike, if an incident occurs which involves --"
"Mr. HOBBS. The gentleman need go no further. This bill does not cover strikes or any question relating to strikes."
"Mr. MARCANTONIO. Will the gentleman put a provision in the bill stating so?"
"Mr. HOBBS. We do not have to, because a strike is perfectly lawful, and has been so described by the Supreme Court and by the statutes we have passed. This bill takes off from the springboard that the act must be unlawful to come within the purview of this bill."
"Mr. MARCANTONIO. That does not answer my point. My point is that an incident such as a simple assault which takes place in a strike could happen. Am I correct?"
that striker, as well as his union officials, could be charged with violation of sections in this bill."
"Mr. HOBBS. I disagree with that, and deny it in toto."
solely because they would have operated to continue the effect of the Local 807 case. [Footnote 18] Their rejection thus proves nothing more than that Congress was intent on undoing the restrictive impact of that case.
In the nearly three decades that have passed since the enactment of the Hobbs Act, no reported case has upheld the theory that the Act proscribes the use of force to achieve legitimate collective bargaining demands.
The only previous case in this Court relevant to the issue, United States v. Green, 350 U. S. 415, held no more than that the Hobbs Act had accomplished its objective of overruling the Local 807 case. The alleged extortions in that case, as in Local 807, consisted of attempts to obtain so-called wages for "imposed, unwanted, superfluous and fictitious services of laborers. . . ." Id. at 350 U. S. 417. The indictment charged that the employer's consent was obtained "by the wrongful use, to-wit, the use for the purposes aforesaid, of actual and threatened force, violence and fear. . . ." Ibid. The Government thus did not rely, as it does in the present case, solely on the use of force in an employer employee relationship; it alleged a wrongful purpose -- to obtain money from the employer that the union officials had no legitimate right to demand. We concluded that the Hobbs Act could reach extortion in an employer employee relationship and that personal profit to the extortionist was not required, but our holding was carefully limited to the charges in that case: "We rule only on the allegations of the indictment and hold that the acts charged against appellees fall within the terms of the Act." Id. at 350 U. S. 421.
"We need not consider the normal demand for wages as compensation for services desired by or valuable to the employer. It is enough for this case, and all we decide, that payment of money for imposed, unwanted and superfluous services . . . is within the language and intendment of the statute."
Most recently, in United States v. Caldes, 457 F.2d 74, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit was squarely presented with the question at issue in this case. Two union officials were convicted of Hobbs Act violations in that they damaged property of a company with which they were negotiating for a collective bargaining agreement, in an attempt to pressure the company into agreeing to the union contract. Concluding that the Act was not intended to reach militant activity in the pursuit of legitimate unions ends, the court reversed the convictions and ordered the indictment dismissed.
Yet, throughout this period, the Nation has witnessed countless economic strikes, often unfortunately punctuated by violence. It is unlikely that, if Congress had indeed wrought such a major expansion of federal criminal jurisdiction in enacting the Hobbs Act, its action would have so long passed unobserved. See United States v. Laub, 385 U. S. 475, 385 U. S. 485.
Even if the language and history of the Act were less clear than we have found them to be, the Act could not properly be expanded as the Government suggests -- for two related reasons. First, this being a criminal statute, it must be strictly construed, and any ambiguity must be resolved in favor of lenity. United States v. Wiltberger, 5 Wheat. 76, 18 U. S. 95; United States v. Halseth, 342 U. S. 277, 342 U. S. 280; Bell v. United States, 349 U. S. 81, 349 U. S. 83; Arroyo v. United States, 359 U. S. 419, 359 U. S. 424; Rewis v. United States, 401 U. S. 808, 401 U. S. 812. Secondly, it would require statutory language much more explicit than that, before us here to lead to the conclusion that Congress intended to put the Federal Government in the business of policing the orderly conduct of strikes. Neither the language of the Hobbs Act nor its legislative history can justify the conclusion that Congress intended to work such an extraordinary change in federal labor law or such an unprecedented incursion into the criminal jurisdiction of the States. See San Diego Bldg. Trades Council v. Garmon, 359 U. S. 236, 359 U. S. 247-248; United Constr. Workers v. Laburnum Constr. Corp., 347 U. S. 656, 347 U. S. 665; Garner v. Teamsters Local 776, 346 U. S. 485, 346 U. S. 488; UAW Local 2 v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Bd., 336 U. S. 245, 336 U. S. 253.
relation between federal and state criminal jurisdiction."
United States v. Bass, 404 U. S. 336, 404 U. S. 349 (footnotes omitted).
The District Court was correct in dismissing the indictment. Its judgment is affirmed.
This appeal was taken under 18 U.S.C. § 3731 (1964 ed.). The 1971 amendment to the Criminal Appeals Act, providing that all appeals from dismissals of indictments or informations must be taken to the Courts of Appeals, does not apply to cases instituted before January 2, 1971. Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1970, Pub.Law No. 91-644, § 14(a), 84 Stat. 1890, codified, 18 U.S.C. § 3731. See United States v. Jorn, 400 U. S. 470, 400 U. S. 474 n. 1, 477-478, n. 6. The present indictment was filed on October 15, 1970.
Congressman Hobbs indicated that "wrongful" was to modify the entire section. 91 Cong.Rec. 11908.
The Government suggests a convoluted construction of "wrongful." It concedes that, when the means used are not "wrongful," such as where fear of economic loss from a strike is employed, then the objective must be illegal. If, on the other hand, "wrongful" force and violence are used, even for a legal objective, the Government contends that the statute is satisfied. But that interpretation simply accepts the redundancy of the term "wrongful" whenever it applies to "force" and "violence" in the statute.
See, e.g., United States v. Iozzi, 420 F.2d 512; United States v. Kramer, 355 F.2d 891, cert. granted and case remanded for resentencing, 384 U. S. 100; Bianchi v. United States, 219 F.2d 182.
See, e.g., United States v. Green, 350 U. S. 415, 350 U. S. 417; United States v. Kemble, 198 F.2d 889.
"Any person who, in connection with or in relation to any act in any way or in any degree affecting trade or commerce or any article or commodity moving or about to move in trade or commerce -- "
"(a) Obtains or attempts to obtain, by the use of or attempt to use or threat to use force, violence, or coercion, the payment of money or other valuable considerations, or the purchase or rental of property or protective services, not including, however, the payment of wages by a bona-fide employer to a bona-fide employee; or"
"(b) Obtains the property of another, with his consent, induced by wrongful use of force or fear, or under color of official right; or"
"(c) Commits or threatens to commit an act of physical violence or physical injury to a person or property in furtherance of a plan or purpose to violate sections (a) or (b); or"
"(d) Conspires or acts concertedly with any other person or persons to commit any of the foregoing acts; shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment from one to ten years or by a fine of $10,000, or both."
See § 2(a), quoted in n 6, supra. While the specific wage exception was found only in § 2(a) of the Act, § 3(b) excluded "wages paid by a bona-fide employer to a bona-fide employee" from the definition of "property," "money," or other "valuable considerations." The wage exception thus permeated the entire Act. United States v. Green, 350 U.S. at 350 U. S. 419 n. 4; United States v. Local 807, 315 U. S. 521, 315 U. S. 527 n. 2.
S. 2347, 77th Cong., 2d Sess.; H.R. 6872, 77th Cong., 2d Sess.; H.R. 7067, 77th Cong., 2d Sess.; H.R. 653, 78th Cong., 1st Sess.; H.R. 32, 79th Cong., 1st Sess. See Callanan v. United States, 364 U. S. 587, 364 U. S. 591 n. 5; United States v. Green, supra, at 350 U. S. 419 n. 5.
See United States v. Green, supra, at 350 U. S. 419 n. 5; Note, Labor Faces the Amended Anti-Racketeering Act, 101 U.Pa.L.Rev. 1030, 1033-1034 (1953).
"That no court of the United States shall construe or apply any of the provisions of this Act in such manner as to impair, diminish, or in any manner affect the rights of bona fide labor organizations in lawfully carrying out the legitimate objects thereof, as such rights are expressed in existing statutes of the United States."
That proviso was one of the supports for the Local 807 decision, see 315 U.S. at 315 U. S. 535, and it was eliminated to prevent reliance on that clause as a means of resuscitating the Local 807 decision. See 91 Cong.Rec. 11912 (remarks of Rep. Hobbs).
See also 91 Cong.Rec. 11842 (remarks of Rep. Michener); id. at 11905 (remarks of Rep. Robsion); id. at 11909 (remarks of Rep. Sumners); id. at 11912-11913 (remarks of Rep. Whittington).
In its report on the bill, the House Committee on the Judiciary reproduced this Court's decision in the Local 807 case and concluded that "[t]he need for the legislation was emphasized by the opinion of the Supreme Court in . . . United States v. Local 807. . . ." H.R.Rep. No. 238, 79th Cong., 1st Sess., 10. See also S.Rep. No. 1516, 79th Cong., 2d Sess.
91 Cong.Rec. 11841 (remarks of Rep. Walter).
Id. at 11908 (remarks of Rep. Sumners). See also id. at 11900 (remarks of Rep. Hancock); id. at 11904 (remarks of Rep. Gwynne); id. at 11909 (remarks of Rep. Vursell).
The remarks with respect to that bill, H.R. 653, 78th Cong., 1st Sess., which passed only the House, are wholly relevant to an understanding of the Hobbs Act, since the operative language of the original bill was substantially carried forward into the Act. The congressional debates on the Hobbs Act in the 79th Congress repeatedly referred to the legislative history of the original bill. See 91 Cong.Rec. 11842 (remarks of Rep. Michener); id. at 11899-11900 (remarks of Rep. Hancock); id. at 11900 (remarks of Rep. Hobbs). Surely an interpretation placed by the sponsor of a bill on the very language subsequently enacted by Congress cannot be dismissed out of hand, as the dissent would have it, simply because the interpretation was given two years earlier.
See also 89 Cong.Rec. 3202 (remarks of Rep. Gwynne) (Act does not cover "a clash between strikers and scabs during a strike").
The proponents of the Hobbs Act defended the Act as no encroachment on the legitimate activities of labor unions on the ground that the statute did no more than incorporate New York's conventional definition of extortion, "the obtaining of property from another . . . with his consent, induced by a wrongful use of force or fear, or under color of official right." N.Y.Penal Law § 850 (1909). See 91 Cong.Rec. 11842 (remarks of Rep. Walter); id. at 11843 (remarks of Rep. Michener); id. at 11900 (remarks of Rep. Hancock); ibid. (remarks of Rep. Hobbs); id. at 11906 (remarks of Rep. Robsion). See also United States v. Caldes, 457 F.2d 74, 77; United States v. Provenzano, 334 F.2d 678, 686.
"was actuated by the purpose of obtaining a financial benefit for himself . . . and was not attempting in good faith to advance the cause of unionism. . . ."
People v. Adelstein, 9 App.Div.2d 907, 908, 195 N Y. S.2d 27, 28, aff'd sub nom. People v. Squillante, 8 N.Y.2d 998, 169 N.E.2d 425.
Hence, New York's highest court has interpreted its extortion statute to apply to a case where the accused received a payoff to buy an end to labor picketing. People v. Dioguardi, 8 N.Y.2d 260, 168 N.E.2d 683.
"The picketing here . . . may have been perfectly lawful in its inception (assuming it was part of a bona fide organizational effort) and may have remained so -- despite its potentially ruinous effect on the employers' businesses so long as it was employed to accomplish the legitimate labor objective of organization. Its entire character changed from legality to criminality, however, when it wax used as a pressure device to exact the payment of money as a condition of its cessation. . . ."
Id. at 271, 168 N.E.2d at 690-691.
In short, when the objectives of the picketing changed from legitimate labor ends to personal payoffs, then the actions became extortionate.
The Government relies heavily on a statement by Congressman Michener, in a dialogue with two of his colleagues, to the effect that union members who "by robbery or exploitation collect a day's wage -- a union wage -- they are not exempted from the law solely because they are engaging in a legitimate union activity." 91 Cong.Rec. 11843-11844. But Congressman Michener was referring to the activity of "robbery or exploitation," and his statement continued: "I cannot understand how any union man can claim that the conduct described by Mr. Justice Stone is a legitimate union activity." Id. at 11844. Mr. Chief Justice Stone's dissenting opinion in the Local 807 case described payoffs for the superfluous and unwanted work involved in that case. See 315 U.S. at 315 U. S. 539.
See 91 Cong. Re. 11914 (remarks of Rep. Hobbs); ibid. (remarks of Rep. Walter); id. at 11920 (remarks of Rep. Gwynne).
As noted above, the indictment in United States v. Caldes, 457 F.2d 74, was ordered to be dismissed by the Ninth Circuit. Two similar indictments returned in the Southern District of Florida were dismissed by the District Court without opinion in June, 1970. United States v. Rutcofsky, No. 70-101-CR-JE, June 24, 1970; United States v. Schiffman, No. 70-102-CR-JE, June 25, 1970. An additional indictment, based on a similar theory of the Hobbs Act, was filed in the Eastern District of New York on January 12, 1972, and is currently pending. United States v. Spero, No. 72-CR-17.
The briefs in the present case advise us of one other Hobbs Act prosecution that may have been brought under this theory -- a 1962 indictment in United States v. Webb, ND Ala., No. 15080.
"the incidental injury to person or property that not infrequently occurs as a consequence of the charged atmosphere attending a prolonged labor dispute. . . ."
But nothing, either in the language or the history of the Act, justifies any such exception.
Similarly, there is nothing to support the dissent's exception for "mischievous" conduct, post, at 410 U. S. 418 n. 17, even if we could begin to define the meaning and limits of such a term.
I join the Court's opinion. I readily concede that my visceral reaction to immaturely conceived acts of violence of the kind charged in this indictment is that such acts deserve to be dignified as federal crimes. That reaction on my part, however, is legislative in nature rather than judicial. If Congress wishes acts of that kind to be encompassed by a federal statute, it has the constitutional power in the interstate context to effect that result. The appellees so concede. Tr. of Oral Arg. 18-19. But MR. JUSTICE STEWART has gathered the pertinent and persuasive legislative history demonstrating that Congress did not intend to exercise its power to reach these acts of violence.
The Government's posture, with its concession that certain strike violence (which it would downgrade as "incidental" and the dissent as "low level," post at 410 U. S. 418 n. 17), although aimed at achieving a legitimate end, is not covered by the Act, necessarily means that the legislation would be enforced selectively or, at the least, would embroil all concerned with drawing the distinction between major and minor violence. That, for me, is neither an appealing prospect nor solid support for the position taken.
This type of violence, as the Court points out, is subject to state criminal prosecution. That is where it must remain until the Congress acts otherwise in a manner far more clear than the language of the Hobbs Act.
MR. JUSTICE DOUGLAS, with whom THE CHIEF JUSTICE, MR. JUSTICE POWELL, and MR. JUSTICE REHNQUIST concur, dissenting.
The Court today achieves by interpretation what those who were opposed to the Hobbs Act were unable to get Congress to do. The Court considers primarily the legislative history of a predecessor bill considered by the 78th Congress. The bill before us was considered and enacted by the 79th Congress; and, as I read the debates, the opposition lost in the 79th Congress what they win today. All of which makes pertinent Mr. Justice Holmes' admonition in Missouri, K. & T. R. Co. v. May, 194 U. S. 267, 194 U. S. 270, that "it must be remembered that legislatures are ultimate guardians of the liberties and welfare of the people in quite as great a degree as the courts."
In United States v. Local 807, 315 U. S. 521, we had before us the Anti-Racketeering Act of 1934, 48 Stat. 979, which made it a crime to use violence respecting interstate trade or commerce to obtain the "payment of money or other valuable considerations," excluding "the payment of wages by a bona-fide employer to a bonafide employee." We held that the exception included demands for unwanted or superfluous services and covered those who wanted jobs, not only those who presently had them.
Congress did not intend to cover the employer employee relationship. The words were defined to avoid any misunderstanding."
In Green, the Court held that it was an extortion within the meaning of the Act to use force to obtain payment of wages for unwanted and superfluous services. Id. at 350 U. S. 417.
Here, the services were not unwanted or superfluous; they were services being negotiated under a collective bargaining agreement.
The Court relies mostly on the legislative history of a measure covering the same topic which was passed by the previous House but on which the Senate did not act. Two years later, the bill in its present form was enacted. It was a differently constituted House that debated it and the year was 1945, rather than 1943. So the most relevant legislative history, in my view, concerns the 79th Congress, not the 78th.
stands, that a simple, unfortunate altercation on a picket line -- and we all know that human beings are frail and when tempers are hot some trouble may develop -- under such a situation, you may send a man to jail for 20 years or fine him $10,000. [Footnote 2/5]"
"This bill would not have been presented to the House if organized labor had recognized law and order in striking and in establishing their rights, as they have a right to do. Everyone can remember the taxicab strike in the city of Baltimore, which does not pertain to this bill, where cabs were overthrown, bricks thrown through the windows endangering the lives of people, innocent victims. Those were the tactics of organized labor which you people support outright and which organized labor sanctioned. The leaders were locked up and put in jail for participating in those activities. Yet you stand here on the floor of this House and say they did not do it or they did not know anything about it."
"Mr. Chairman, labor has a right to strike, but when labor perpetrates that sort of thing, they are going far beyond the bounds of reason. Certainly, I do not take the position that labor has not the right to organize or to strike, but when they do so they should abide by the laws of the land and the laws of decency. If they had done that, we would not have this legislation before the House today. [Footnote 2/7] "
"The pending bill will provide for punishing racketeers who rob or extort. There is no justification for labor unions opposing the bill as it constitutes no invasion of the legitimate rights of labor. Robbery and extortion by members of labor unions must be punished. Labor unions owe that much to the public. In demanding the protection of laws, labor unions should urge that those engaged in legitimate interstate commerce be protected from robbery and extortion. [Footnote 2/8] "
"from the drivers in order that the shipments might enter the Holland Tunnel and be delivered to their respective destinations in New York. [Footnote 2/11]"
In the present case, violence was used during the bargaining -- five acts of violence involving the shooting and sabotage of the employer's transformers and the blowing up of a company transformer substation. The violence was used to obtain higher wages and other benefits for union members. The acts literally fit the definition of extortion used in the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951. The term "extortion" means the use of violence to obtain "property" from another. § 1951(b)(2). The crime is the use of "extortion" in furtherance of a plan to do anything in violation of the section. § 1951(a). The prior exception covering those who seek "the payment of wages by a bona-fide employer to a bona-fide employee" was taken out of the Act by Congress. Hence, the use of violence to obtain higher wages is plainly a method of obtaining "property from another" within the meaning of § 1951(b)(2).
Seeking higher wages is certainly not unlawful. But using violence to obtain them seems plainly within the scope of "extortion" as used in the Act, just as is the use of violence to exact payment for no work or the use of violence to get a sham substitution for no work. The regime of violence, whatever its precise objective, is a common device of extortion and is condemned by the Act.
constitutional boundaries. But none has been so hardy as even to suggest that.
While we said in Kirschbaum Co. v. Walling, 316 U. S. 517, 316 U. S. 522, that it is "retrospective expansion of meaning which properly deserves the stigma of judicial legislation," the same is true of retrospective contraction of meaning.
91 Cong.Rec. 11914 (remarks of Rep. Marcantonio).
Id. at 11914; 11914-11915; 11918.
"(a) The term 'the payment of wages by a bona fide employer to a bona fide employee' shall not be construed so as to include the payment of money or the transfer of a thing of value by a person to another when the latter shall use or attempt to use or threaten to use force or violence against the body or to the physical property (as distinguished from intangible property) of the former or against the body of anyone having the possession, custody, or control of the physical property of the former, in attempting to obtain or obtaining such payment or transfer."
"(b) The term 'the rights of a bona fide labor organization in lawfully carrying out the legitimate objects thereof, as such rights are expressed in existing statutes of the United States' shall not be construed so as to ignore, void, set aside, or nullify the definitions set out or the words used in or the plain meaning of subsection (a) hereof."
See, e.g., Addison v. Holly Hill Co., 322 U. S. 607, 322 U. S. 615-616, for the use by Congress of the rather opaque phrase "area of production."
The fear was expressed in the House debates by opponents of the measure that a fistfight on a picket line during a strike could bring down on the offender a $10,000 fine and 20 years in jail or both. See 91 Cong.Rec. 11916; supra at 410 U. S. 414-415. And the Government actually argued in one case, United States v. Caldes, 457 F.2d 74, 78, that a union and its members were guilty of extortion if they used the coercion of a strike to obtain economic benefits from the employer. That, however, is nonsense, as the court in Caldes ruled, id. at 79, for the Hobbs Act specifically does not touch collective bargaining of which the strike is a component part. 18 U.S.C. § 1951(c). Moreover, the court in Caldes held that "mischievous" conduct during a strike and actions which are "the by-product of frustration engendered by a prolonged, bona fide collective bargaining negotiation," id. at 78, are often only low-level acts of violence that may be unfair labor practices or, at best, subject to state, not federal, prosecution. That is my view.

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