Lynn L. Breininger v. Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local Union No. 6

Decided December 5, 1989. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 88-124 · 493 U.S. 67 (1989) · Cited 277 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–2.

“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.

• Vaca v. Sipes · 386 U.S. 171 (1967)
• Finnegan v. Leu · 456 U.S. 431 (1982)
• Local 357, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers v. National Labor Relations Board · 365 U.S. 667 (1961)
• Amalgamated Ass'n of Street, Electric Railway & Motor Coach Employees of America v. Lockridge · 403 U.S. 274 (1971)
• International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Shipbuilders, Blacksmiths, Forgers & Helpers v. Hardeman · 401 U.S. 233 (1971)
• United Parcel Service, Inc. v. Mitchell · 451 U.S. 56 (1981)
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. Hechler · 481 U.S. 851 (1987)
• Communications Workers of America v. Beck · 487 U.S. 735 (1988)
• Conley v. Gibson · 355 U.S. 41 (1957)
• San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon · 359 U.S. 236 (1959)
• Steele v. Louisville & Nashville Railroad · 323 U.S. 192 (1944)
• Farmer v. United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, Local 25 · 430 U.S. 290 (1977)
• Bowen v. United States Postal Service · 459 U.S. 212 (1983)
• Sheet Metal Workers' International Ass'n v. Lynn · 488 U.S. 347 (1989)
• Preiser v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 475 (1973)
• Hishon v. King & Spalding · 467 U.S. 69 (1984)
• DelCostello v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters · 462 U.S. 151 (1983)
• Goss v. Lopez · 419 U.S. 565 (1975)
• Ingraham v. Wright · 430 U.S. 651 (1977)
• Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck · 471 U.S. 202 (1985)
• Lingle v. Norge Division of Magic Chef, Inc. · 486 U.S. 399 (1988)
• Hines v. Anchor Motor Freight, Inc. · 424 U.S. 554 (1976)
• Local 174, Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers v. Lucas Flour Co. · 369 U.S. 95 (1962)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman · 345 U.S. 330 (1953)
• Humphrey v. Moore · 375 U.S. 335 (1964)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Brown · 380 U.S. 278 (1965)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. · 388 U.S. 175 (1967)
• Delta Air Lines, Inc. v. August · 450 U.S. 346 (1981)
• Woelke & Romero Framing, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board · 456 U.S. 645 (1982)
• Tunstall v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen · 323 U.S. 210 (1945)

Cited by

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

• Marquez v. Screen Actors Guild, Inc. · 525 U.S. 33 (1998)
• Air Line Pilots Ass'n v. O'Neill · 499 U.S. 65 (1991)
• United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO-CLC v. Rawson · 495 U.S. 362 (1990)
• Fischer v. United States · 603 U.S. 480 (2024)

Official text

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

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).