Task: songer_geniss

What follows is an opinion from a United States Court of Appeals.
Your task is to identify the issue in the case, that is, the social and/or political context of the litigation in which more purely legal issues are argued. Put somewhat differently, this field identifies the nature of the conflict between the litigants. The focus here is on the subject matter of the controversy rather than its legal basis. Consider the following categories: "criminal" (including appeals of conviction, petitions for post conviction relief, habeas corpus petitions, and other prisoner petitions which challenge the validity of the conviction or the sentence), "civil rights" (excluding First Amendment or due process; also excluding claims of denial of rights in criminal proceeding or claims by prisoners that challenge their conviction or their sentence (e.g., habeas corpus petitions are coded under the criminal category); does include civil suits instituted by both prisoners and callable non-prisoners alleging denial of rights by criminal justice officials), "First Amendment", "due process" (claims in civil cases by persons other than prisoners, does not include due process challenges to government economic regulation), "privacy", "labor relations", "economic activity and regulation", and "miscellaneous".

BUFFINGTON, Circuit Judge.
In the court below William F. MeMurray and others, members of a local labor lodge, brought a bill in equity against the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, a corporation of Ohio, and the parent organization of the local organization here concerned. As the ease developed, it became, clear that what was involved was seniority employment in an interstate railroad run and that the parties in interest in that question were the members of the local lodge in Pennsylvania at one end and the members of a loeal lodge in Ohio at the other end of the run. The dispute had been eventually carried to the highest tribunal of the Brotherhood and the contention of the Ohio lodge had been there sustained.
On final hearing the court below held: “Plaintiffs have claimed, and their suit is founded thereon, that seniority rights upon the through runs are property rights. If so, this court cannot well make a decree which will wipe out the claimed property rights of the members of Lodge No. 421 [the Ohio lodge] without giving them an opportunity to be heard. The Dennison trainmen are probably not resident within this district, and so cannot be made parties in the instant action. It seems quite possible that they with the present defendants, could be joined in another district; but whether this be correct or not, they are essential parties, and a court of equity can properly make no effective order unless they be joined as defendants. Ex parte Equitable Trust Co. (C. C. A.) 231 F. 571, 592; California v. S. Pac. Co., 157 U. S. 229, 15 S. Ct. 591, 39 L. Ed. 683.”
We agree with that view and, therefore, affirm the judgment below.

Question: What is the general issue in the case?
A. criminal
B. civil rights
C. First Amendment
D. due process
E. privacy
F. labor relations
G. economic activity and regulation
H. miscellaneous
Answer:

Answer: F