Andrews v. Louisville & Nashville Railroad Co. et al.

Decided May 15, 1972. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 71-300 · 406 U.S. 320 (1972) · Cited 565 times

Holding

Since the source of petitioner's right not to be discharged and of his employer's obligation to restore him to his regular employment following an injury is the collective-bargaining agreement, petitioner must follow the grievance and arbitration procedures set forth in the Railway Labor Act.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–1.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Republic Steel Corp. v. Maddox · 379 U.S. 650 (1965)
• Moore v. Illinois Central Railroad · 312 U.S. 630 (1941)
• Walker v. Southern Railway Co. · 385 U.S. 196 (1966)
• International Ass'n of MacHinists v. Central Airlines, Inc. · 372 U.S. 682 (1963)
• Textile Workers v. Lincoln Mills of Ala. · 353 U.S. 448 (1957)
• Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Chicago River & Indiana Railroad · 353 U.S. 30 (1957)
• Slocum v. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad · 339 U.S. 239 (1950)
• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc. v. Koppal · 345 U.S. 653 (1953)
• Mapp v. Ohio · 367 U.S. 643 (1961)
• Allied Chemical & Alkali Workers of America, Local Union No. 1 v. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. · 404 U.S. 157 (1971)
• Mazer v. Stein · 347 U.S. 201 (1954)
• Redrup v. New York · 386 U.S. 767 (1967)
• Gunther v. San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway Co. · 382 U.S. 257 (1965)
• Union Pacific Railroad v. Price · 360 U.S. 601 (1959)
• U. S. Bulk Carriers, Inc. v. Arguelles · 400 U.S. 351 (1971)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Union Pacific Railroad v. Sheehan · 439 U.S. 89 (1978)
• Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. v. Norris · 512 U.S. 246 (1994)
• Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway v. Buell · 480 U.S. 557 (1987)
• United States v. Gaudin · 515 U.S. 506 (1995)
• Patterson v. McLean Credit Union · 491 U.S. 164 (1989)
• Engquist v. Oregon Department of Agriculture · 553 U.S. 591 (2008)
• Hubbard v. United States · 514 U.S. 695 (1995)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1972). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).