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Commonwealth v. Hunt
Topic Started: Mar 31 2010, 09:47 PM (180 Views)
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An Empire for Liberty

March 1842

The Massachusetts Supreme Court has delivered a landmark ruling in Commonwealth v. Hunt, a case dealing with the legality of labor unions.

The case stemmed from an 1839 action by the Cleveland Journeymen Bootmakers' Society, which called a strike against all employers who hired non-union members. The leaders of the society, including one Mr. Hunt, were arrested and charged with conspiracy based on the earlier Commonwealth v. Pullis legal ruling. All were subsequently convicted by local municipal courts. Hunt then appealed the decision to the state supreme court, arguing that the union's actions had been perfectly lawful.

Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw ruled that the act of unionization and recognition of that union through strike was legal unless the methods to coerce workers to strike were illegal. Since no threat of force was posed by the union, there was no legal basis for the convictions of conspiracy; hence the lower court's ruling was declared invalid and the men were set free.

The decision has been hailed by union activists for its legitimization of the labor movement.
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