Source: https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/339-u-s-382-606511018
Timestamp: 2019-12-09 01:05:57
Document Index: 199104301

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 9', '§ 9', '§ 9', '§ 141', '§ 9', '§ 9']

339 U.S. 382 (1950), 10, American Communications Assn. v. Douds - Federal Cases - Case Law - VLEX 606511018
Citation: 339 U.S. 382, 70 S.Ct. 674, 94 L.Ed. 925
Party Name: American Communications Assn. v. Douds
Case Date: May 08, 1950
70 S.Ct. 674, 94 L.Ed. 925
Section 9(h) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended by the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, which imposes certain restrictions on, and denies the benefits of certain provisions of the National Labor Relations Act to, any labor organization the officers of which have not filed with the National Labor Relations Board the so-called "non-Commmist" affidavits prescribed by § 9(h), is valid under the Federal Constitution. Pp. 385-415.
1. One of the purposes of the Labor Management Relations Act was to remove the obstructions to the free flow of commerce resulting from "political strikes" instigated by Communists who had infiltrated the management of labor organizations and were subordinating legitimate trade union objectives to obstructive strikes when dictated by Communist Party leaders, often in support of the policies of a foreign government. Pp. 387-389.
4. Section 9(h) is designed to protect the public not against what Communists and others identified therein advocate or believe, but against what Congress has concluded they have done and are likely to do again, and the probable effects of the statute upon the free exercise of the right of speech and assembly must be weighed against the congressional determination that political strikes are evils of conduct which cause substantial harm to interstate commerce, and that Communists and others identified by § 9(h) pose continuing threats to that public interest when in positions of union leadership. Pp. 393-400.
7. Section 9(h) is not unconstitutionally vague; it does not violate the prohibition of Article I, § 9 of the Constitution against bills of attainder or ex post facto laws, and it does not require a "test oath" contrary to the provision of Article VI that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." Pp. 412-415.
Relations Act, as amended by the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, 61 Stat. 136, 146, 29 U.S.C. (Supp. III) §§ 141, 159(h), appellant, claiming hat the section was unconstitutional, sued to restrain the Board from holding a representation election in a bargaining unit in which appellant was the employee representative, until a hearing was granted to appellant. The three-judge district court dismissed the complaint. 79 F.Supp. 563. On appeal to this Court, affirmed, p. 415.
These cases present for decision the constitutionality of § 9(h) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended by the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947.1 This section, commonly referred to as the non-Communist affidavit provision, reads as follows:
No investigation shall be made by the [National Labor Relations] Board of any question affecting commerce concerning the representation of employees, raised by a labor organization under subsection (c) of this section, no petition under section 9(e)(1) shall be entertained, and no complaint shall be issued pursuant to a charge made by a labor organization under subsection (b) of section 10, unless there is on file with the Board an affidavit executed contemporaneously or within the preceding twelve-month period by each officer of such labor organization and the officers of any national or international labor organization of which it is an affiliate or
constituent unit that he is not a member of the Communist Party or affiliated with such party, and that he does not believe in, and is not a member of or supports any organization that believes in or teaches, the overthrow of the United States Government by force or by any illegal or unconstitutional methods. The provisions of section 35 A of the Criminal Code shall be applicable in respect to such affidavits.
In No. 10, the constitutional issue was raised by a suit to restrain the Board from holding a representation election in a bargaining unit in which appellant union was the employee representative, without permitting its name to appear on the ballot, and, should the election be held, to restrain the Board from announcing the results or certifying the victor, until a hearing was granted to appellant. A hearing had been denied because of the noncompliance with [70 S.Ct. 678] § 9(h). The complaint alleged that this requirement was unconstitutional. Appellee's motion to dismiss the complaint was granted by the statutory three-judge court, 79 F.Supp. 563 (1948), with one judge dissenting. Since the constitutional issues were properly raised and substantial, we noted probable jurisdiction.
Experience has further demonstrated that certain practices by some labor organizations, their officers, and members have...