Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. Transport Workers Union of America, Afl-Cio, et al.

Decided April 20, 1981. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 79-1056 · 451 U.S. 77 (1981) · Cited 806 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 8–0.

“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.

• Cort v. Ash · 422 U.S. 66 (1975)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Cooper Stevedoring Co. v. Fritz Kopke, Inc. · 417 U.S. 106 (1974)
• Touche Ross & Co. v. Redington · 442 U.S. 560 (1979)
• Transamerica Mortgage Advisors, Inc. v. Lewis · 444 U.S. 11 (1979)
• Mohasco Corp. v. Silver · 447 U.S. 807 (1980)
• Illinois v. City of Milwaukee · 406 U.S. 91 (1972)
• Mobil Oil Corp. v. Higginbotham · 436 U.S. 618 (1978)
• United States v. Standard Oil Co. Of California · 332 U.S. 301 (1947)
• Fitzgerald v. United States Lines Co. · 374 U.S. 16 (1963)
• Universities Research Assn., Inc. v. Coutu · 450 U.S. 754 (1981)
• Scheuer v. Rhodes · 416 U.S. 232 (1974)
• Textile Workers v. Lincoln Mills of Ala. · 353 U.S. 448 (1957)
• Reiter v. Sonotone Corp. · 442 U.S. 330 (1979)
• Minnesota v. Clover Leaf Creamery Co. · 449 U.S. 456 (1981)
• Clearfield Trust Co. v. United States · 318 U.S. 363 (1943)
• National Society of Professional Engineers v. United States · 435 U.S. 679 (1978)
• United Steelworkers of America v. Weber · 443 U.S. 193 (1979)
• National Railroad Passenger Corporation v. National Assn. of Railroad Passengers · 414 U.S. 453 (1974)
• Piper v. Chris-Craft Industries, Inc. · 430 U.S. 1 (1977)
• United States v. Reliable Transfer Co. · 421 U.S. 397 (1975)
• Miree v. DeKalb County · 433 U.S. 25 (1977)
• New York City Transit Authority v. Beazer · 440 U.S. 568 (1979)
• United States v. Yellow Cab Co. · 340 U.S. 543 (1951)
• Arizona v. California · 373 U.S. 546 (1963)
• Edmonds v. Compagnie Generale Transatlantique · 443 U.S. 256 (1979)
• Halcyon Lines v. Haenn Ship Ceiling & Refitting Corp. · 342 U.S. 282 (1952)
• Hinderlider v. La Plata River & Cherry Creek Ditch Co. · 304 U.S. 92 (1938)
• United States v. Gilman · 347 U.S. 507 (1954)
• New Jersey v. New York · 283 U.S. 336 (1931)

Cited by

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

• Musick, Peeler & Garrett v. Employers Ins. of Wausau · 508 U.S. 286 (1993)
• Alexander v. Sandoval · 532 U.S. 275 (2001)
• Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance v. Russell · 473 U.S. 134 (1985)
• Middlesex County Sewerage Authority v. National Sea Clammers Assn. · 453 U.S. 1 (1981)
• O'Melveny & Myers v. Federal Deposit Insurance · 512 U.S. 79 (1994)
• Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc. · 551 U.S. 877 (2007)
• Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Aviall Services, Inc. · 543 U.S. 157 (2004)
• Thompson v. Thompson · 484 U.S. 174 (1988)
• Landgraf v. USI Film Products · 511 U.S. 244 (1994)
• Pilot Life Insurance v. Dedeaux · 481 U.S. 41 (1987)
• United States v. Mitchell · 463 U.S. 206 (1983)
• Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Thompson Ex Rel. Thompson · 478 U.S. 804 (1986)
• Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools · 503 U.S. 60 (1992)
• Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain · 542 U.S. 692 (2004)
• United States v. Locke · 471 U.S. 84 (1985)
• Pinter v. Dahl · 486 U.S. 622 (1988)
• Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Curran · 456 U.S. 353 (1982)
• Key Tronic Corp. v. United States · 511 U.S. 809 (1994)
• United States v. Atlantic Research Corp. · 551 U.S. 128 (2007)
• Karahalios v. National Federation of Federal Employees, Local 1263 · 489 U.S. 527 (1989)
• Guam v. United States · 593 U.S. 310 (2021)

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).