Metropolitan Edison Co. v. National Labor Relations Board et al.

Decided April 4, 1983. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 81-1664 · 460 U.S. 693 (1983) · Cited 419 times

Holding

In the absence of an explicit contractual duty, the imposition of more severe sanctions on union officials than on other employees for participating in an unlawful work stoppage violates 8(a)(3).

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 9–0.

“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.

• National Labor Relations Board v. Great Dane Trailers, Inc. · 388 U.S. 26 (1967)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Brown · 380 U.S. 278 (1965)
• Florida Power & Light Co. v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 641 · 417 U.S. 790 (1974)
• Local 174, Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers v. Lucas Flour Co. · 369 U.S. 95 (1962)
• Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerks Union, Local 770 · 398 U.S. 235 (1970)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman · 345 U.S. 330 (1953)
• Mastro Plastics Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board · 350 U.S. 270 (1956)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Erie Resistor Corp. · 373 U.S. 221 (1963)
• Carbon Fuel Co. v. United Mine Workers · 444 U.S. 212 (1979)
• Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Reis · 451 U.S. 401 (1981)
• United Steelworkers v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co. · 363 U.S. 574 (1960)
• Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co. · 415 U.S. 36 (1974)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Bell Aerospace Co. · 416 U.S. 267 (1974)
• General Building Contractors Assn., Inc. v. Pennsylvania · 458 U.S. 375 (1982)
• Radio Officers' Union of the Commercial Telegraphers Union v. National Labor Relations Board · 347 U.S. 17 (1954)
• American Ship Building Co. v. National Labor Relations Board · 380 U.S. 300 (1965)
• Clayton v. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, & Agricultural Implement Workers · 451 U.S. 679 (1981)
• Gateway Coal Co. v. United Mine Workers · 414 U.S. 368 (1974)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. · 388 U.S. 175 (1967)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Magnavox Co. of Tennessee · 415 U.S. 322 (1974)

Cited by

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

• Livadas v. Bradshaw · 512 U.S. 107 (1994)
• Wright v. Universal Maritime Service Corp. · 525 U.S. 70 (1998)
• Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Independent Federation of Flight Attendants · 489 U.S. 426 (1989)
• Lingle v. Norge Division of Magic Chef, Inc. · 486 U.S. 399 (1988)
• Locke v. Davey · 540 U.S. 712 (2004)
• Pattern Makers' League v. National Labor Relations Board · 473 U.S. 95 (1985)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1983). 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).