The United States Supreme Court has issued a ruling that makes it easier for companies to sue labour unions over property damage that occurs during strikes. This decision continues a trend of rulings that are unfavourable to organised labour.
On Thursday, the nation’s highest court reversed a lower court ruling that had blocked a lawsuit brought by Glacier Northwest, a concrete seller in Washington state, against the local affiliate of a labour union. The lawsuit claimed that Glacier Northwest suffered losses during a 2017 strike that forced the company to discard unused product: wet concrete that could have damaged the trucks carrying it.
The lower court had ruled that the workers’ right to strike was guaranteed under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). However, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the Supreme Court’s majority, said that there were limits to the NLRA’s protections.
“Because the union took affirmative steps to endanger Glacier’s property rather than reasonable precautions to mitigate that risk, the NLRA does not arguably protect its conduct,” she wrote in the ruling.
This decision is the latest in a series of cases in which the court has ruled in favour of companies and against organised labour.
Article from www.aljazeera.com
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