Old Dominion Branch No. 496, National Association of Letter Carriers, Afl-Cio, et al. v. Austin et al.

Decided June 25, 1974. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 72-1180 · 418 U.S. 264 (1974) · Cited 723 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 6–3.

“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.

• Linn v. United Plant Guard Workers of America, Local 114 · 383 U.S. 53 (1966)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• Greenbelt Cooperative Publishing Assn., Inc. v. Bresler · 398 U.S. 6 (1970)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Drivers, Chauffeurs, Helpers, Local Union No. 639 · 362 U.S. 274 (1960)
• San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon · 359 U.S. 236 (1959)
• Thornhill v. Alabama · 310 U.S. 88 (1940)
• Rosenblatt v. Baer · 383 U.S. 75 (1966)
• Pickering v. Board of Ed. of Township High School Dist. 205, Will Cty. · 391 U.S. 563 (1968)
• Palko v. Connecticut · 302 U.S. 319 (1937)
• Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts · 388 U.S. 130 (1967)
• Garrison v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 64 (1964)
• Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer · 343 U.S. 579 (1952)
• Stromberg v. California · 283 U.S. 359 (1931)
• United States Civil Service Commission v. National Ass'n of Letter Carriers · 413 U.S. 548 (1973)
• Edwards v. South Carolina · 372 U.S. 229 (1963)
• Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, Inc. · 403 U.S. 29 (1971)
• United States v. Pink · 315 U.S. 203 (1942)
• Retail Clerks International Ass'n, Local 1625 v. Schermerhorn · 375 U.S. 96 (1963)
• Local 24, International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. Oliver · 358 U.S. 283 (1959)
• Beckley Newspapers Corp. v. Hanks · 389 U.S. 81 (1967)
• Cafeteria Employees Union, Local 302 v. Angelos · 320 U.S. 293 (1943)
• Hill v. Florida Ex Rel. Watson · 325 U.S. 538 (1945)
• Henry v. Collins · 380 U.S. 356 (1965)

Cited by

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

• Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co. · 497 U.S. 1 (1990)
• Herbert v. Lando · 441 U.S. 153 (1979)
• Chamber of Commerce of United States v. Brown · 554 U.S. 60 (2008)
• Eastex, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board · 437 U.S. 556 (1978)

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).