PUBLIC SECTOR LABOR RELATIONS, THE SUPREME COURT, AND THE NEW FEDERALISM

WINFIELD H. ROSE

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DOI: 10.2190/R5DF-RLXY-LQQ1-QVFJ

Abstract

In recent years several large cities have assumed the operation of urban mass transit companies when the private sector found them unprofitable. As private enterprises, these companies were subject to the National Labor Relations Act, which guaranteed their employees the rights to bargain collectively and to strike. When mass transit became a governmental function, the question whether national or state law governed their labor relations arose. This article examines two recent decisions of the U. S. Supreme Court in the context of the new federalism and concludes that unless the relevant statute and its legislative history clearly indicate otherwise, Congress intends for state law to have jurisdiction.

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