Everything about Commonwealth V Hunt totally explained
Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842) was a landmark legal decision issued by the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on the subject of
labor unions.
The case
Before this decision, based on
Commonwealth v. Pullis, labor unions which attempted to 'close' or create a unionized workplace could be charged with
conspiracy. However, in March
1842, Chief Justice
Lemuel Shaw ruled that unions were legal organizations and had the right to organize a strike.
In
1839, the Boston Journeymen Bootmakers' Society called a strike against all employers who hired non-union members. The leaders of the society, including one Mr. Hunt, were arrested and charged with
conspiracy. The municipal courts for
Boston found all the defendants guilty, but on appeal Shaw declared that the act of unionization and recognition of that union through strike was legal unless the methods to coerce workers to strike were illegal. Since no threat of force was posed by the union, Shaw sided with the defendants and the Court went with him. Though judges throughout the decade would become more anti-union,
Commonwealth v. Hunt served as a legitimizer for trade unions.
Legacy and importance
The Court established that trade unions were not necessarily criminal or conspiring organizations if they didn't advocate violence or illegal activities in their attempts to gain recognition through striking. This legalized the existence of trade organizations, though trade unions would continue to be harassed legally through anti-trust suits and injunctions.
Further Information
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