Hudgens V. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Case Study

In the Hudgens v. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) case, the Supreme Court held that the first amendment guarantee of freedom of expression could not protect a union from picketing in shopping centers. The legal protection a union would be able to exercise while picketing is available under the guarantees of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Even though this decision by the Court seems to limit the right for employees to picket on private property, it holds protection to NLRA activities. These activities would include the picketing by employees so they can apply economic pressures on the employer (i.e. salary raises or ethical changes to standard operating procedures by the employer).
One of the groups that were impacted the most by the ruling on this case is the union, or NLRB. The reason they were impacted greatly by the reasoning of the case is simply because not only did the Court rule in Hudgens’ favor, but the Court did not decide the standard that courts and the Board (in future cases) should use in determining the scope of protection provided by NLRA. It …show more content…
Not only the employer in this case, but future employers who provide union work for employees. It is now established that employees cannot picket in front of a work place that is located in a shopping mall. This can be not only a big advantage for the employer, but looking at the smaller picture, it could be a big advantage when planning location of a business to future employers.
This case is one of the most controversial cases we have studied this semester, and rightfully so. The Court has not set direct limitations to picketing in a shopping center and what the NLRA protects the union for. Going down the line it makes you wonder if this happens again in the future and a case were to make it to the Supreme Court would there be the same result? Or like in this case will we see another case overturned with the opposite