NLRB v. Washington Aluminum Co.

NLRB v. Washington Aluminium Co.
Argued April 10, 1962
Decided May 28, 1962
Full case nameNational Labor Relations Board v. Washington Aluminum Company
Citations370 U.S. 9 (more)
82 S. Ct. 1099; 8 L. Ed. 2d 298
Case history
Prior
  • Washington Aluminum Co., Inc., 128 NLRB 643 (1960)
  • Enforcement denied, NLRB v. Washington Aluminum Co., 291 F.2d 869 (4th Cir. 1961)
  • Cert. granted, 368 U.S. 924 (1961)
Holding
Unorganized workers have the right to engage in concerted activity over working conditions without making a prior specific demand.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Earl Warren
Associate Justices
Hugo Black · Felix Frankfurter
William O. Douglas · Tom C. Clark
John M. Harlan II · William J. Brennan Jr.
Potter Stewart · Byron White
Case opinion
MajorityBlack, joined by Warren, Douglas, Clark, Harlan, Brennan, Stewart
Frankfurter, White took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
National Labor Relations Act

NLRB v. Washington Aluminium Co., 370 U.S. 9 (1962), was a US labor law related Supreme Court ruling concerning the right of workers to engage in protected concerted activity. Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act gives employees the right to "engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection." The Supreme Court ruled that a walk-out was protected activity even if workers did not present "a specific demand upon their employer to remedy a condition they found objectionable."