UNITED STATES REPORTS VOLUME 381 CASES ADJUDGED IN THE SUPREME COURT ᎪᎢ OCTOBER TERM, 1964 MAY 3 THROUGH JUNE 7, 1965 HENRY PUTZEL, jr. REPORTER OF DECISIONS UNITED STATES WASHINGTON: 1965 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C., 20402 Price $7.50 (Buckram) 382 APPENDIX H OCTOBER TERM, 1949. Syllabus. 339 U.S. AMERICAN COMMUNICATIONS ASSN.. C. I. O., ET AL. v. DOUDS, REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD. NO. 10. APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK.* Argued October 10-11, 1949.-Decided May 8, 1950. Section 9 (h) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended by the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, which imposes certain restrictions on, and denies the benefits of certain provisions of the National Labor Relations Act to, any labor organization the officers of which have not filed with the National Labor Relations Board the so-called "non-Communist" affidavits prescribed by 9 (h), is valid under the Federal Constitution. Pp. 385-415. 1. One of the purposes of the Labor Management Relations Act was to remove the obstructions to the free flow of commerce resulting from "political strikes" instigated by Communists who had infiltrated the management of labor organizations and were subordinating legitimate trade-union objectives to obstructive strikes when dictated by Communist Party leaders, often in support of the policies of a foreign government. Pp. 387-389. 2. Section 9 (h) does not merely withhold from noncomplying unions benefits granted by the Government; it also imposes on them a number of restrictions which would not exist if the National Labor Relations Act had not been enacted. However, it does not prohibit persons who do not sign the prescribed affidavit from holding union office. Pp. 389-390. 3. The remedy provided by §9 (h) bears reasonable relation to the evil which it was designed to reach, since Congress might reasonably find that Communists, unlike members of other political parties, and persons who believe in the overthrow of the Government by force, unlike persons of other beliefs, represent a continuing danger of disruptive political strikes when they hold positions of union leadership. P'p. 390-393. *Together with No. 13, United Steelworkers of America et al. v. National Labor Relations Board, on certiorari to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, argued October 11, 1949. 382 COMMUNICATIONS ASSN. v. DOUDS. 383 Syllabus. 4. Section 9 (h) is designed to protect the public, not against what Communists and others identified therein advocate or believe, but against what Congress has concluded they have done and are likely to do again; and the probable effects of the statute upon the free exercise of the right of speech and assembly must be weighed against the congressional determination that political strikes are evils of conduct which cause substantial harm to interstate commerce and that Communists and others identified by §9 (h) pose continuing threats to that public interest when in positions of union leadership. Pp. 393-400. 5. In view of the complexity of the problem of political strikes and how to deal with their leaders, the public interest in the good faith exercise of the great powers entrusted by Congress to labor bargaining representatives under the National Labor Relations Act, the fact that 89 (h) touches only a relatively few persons who combine certain political affiliations or beliefs with the occupancy of positions of great power over the economy of the country, and the fact that injury to interstate commerce would be an accomplished fact before any sanctions could be applied, the legislative judgment that interstate commerce must be protected from a continuing threat of political strikes is a permissible one in this case. Pp. 400-406. 6. The belief identified in §9 (h) is a belief in the objective of overthrow by force or by any illegal or unconstitutional methods of the Government of the United States as it now exists under the Constitution and laws thereof. The sole effect of the statute upon one who holds such beliefs is that he may be forced to relinquish his position as a union leader. So construed, in the light of the circumstances surrounding the problem, §9 (h) does not unduly infringe freedoms protected by the First Amendment. Pp. 406-412. 7. Section 9 (h) is not unconstitutionally vague; it does not violate the prohibition of Article I, § 9 of the Constitution against bills of attainder or ex post facto laws; and it does not require a "test oath" contrary to the provision of Article VI that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." Pp. 412-415. 79 F. Supp. 563, 170 F. 2d 247, affirmed. No. 10. Although the officers of appellant union had not filed with the National Labor Relations Board the affidavit prescribed by §9 (h) of the National Labor 384 OCTOBER TERM, 1949. Counsel for Parties. 339 U.S. Relations Act, as amended by the Labor Management Relations Act. 1947. 61 Stat. 136, 146, 29 U. S. C. (Supp. III) SS 141. 159 (h), appellant, claiming that the section was unconstitutional, sued to restrain the Board from holding a representation election in a bargaining unit in which appellant was the employee representative, until a hearing was granted to appellant. The three-judge district court dismissed the complaint. 79 F. Supp. 563. On appeal to this Court, affirmed, p. 415. No. 13. On an unfair labor practice complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board by petitioner unions, the Board found that the employer had violated the National Labor Relations Act in refusing to bargain on the subject of pensions; but the Board postponed the effective date of its order compelling the employer to bargain, pending the unions' compliance with § 9 (h). 77 N. L. R. B. 1. The Court of Appeals sustained the Board's action on both counts. 170 F. 2d 247. This Court denied certiorari on the pension issue, 336 U. S. 960, but granted certiorari on an issue regarding the constitutionality of § 9 (h). 335 U. S. 910. Affirmed, p. 415. Victor Rabinowitz argued the cause for appellants in No. 10. With him on the brief was Leonard B. Boudin. Samuel A. Neuburger was also of counsel. Thomas E. Harris argued the cause for petitioners in No. 13. With him on the brief were Arthur J. Goldberg and Frank Donner. Solicitor General Perlman argued the cause for appellee in No. 10 and respondent in No. 13. With him on the briefs were Robert L. Stern, Stanley M. Silverberg, Robert N. Denham, David P. Findling, A. Norman Soners,' Mozart G. Ratner and Norton J. Come. 382 COMMUNICATIONS ASSN. v. DOUDS. 385 Opinion of the Court. Briefs of amici curiae supporting appellants in No. 10 were filed by Arthur J. Goldberg, Frank Donner and Thomas E. Harris for the Congress of Industrial Organizations; and Osmond K. Fraenkel and Jerome Walsh for the American Civil Liberties Union. Briefs of amici curiae supporting appellants in No. 10 and petitioners in No. 13 were filed by Robert W. Kenny, Robert J. Silberstein, Richard F. Watt and Edmund Hatfield for the National Lawyers' Guild; and Allan R. Rosenberg for the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers (C. I. O.). MR. CHIEF JUSTICE VINSON delivered the opinion of the Court. These cases present for decision the constitutionality of 9 (h) of the National Labor Relations Act, as amended by the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947.1 This section, commonly referred to as the non-Communist affidavit provision, reads as follows: "No investigation shall be made by the [National Labor Relations] Board of any question affecting commerce concerning the representation of employees, raised by a labor organization under subsection (c) of this section, no petition under section 9 (e) (1) shall be entertained, and no complaint shall be issued pursuant to a charge made by a labor organization under subsection (b) of section 10, unless there is on file with the Board an affidavit executed contemporaneously or within the preceding twelve-month period by each officer of such labor organization and the officers of any national or international labor organization of which it is an affiliate or 161 Stat. 136, 146, 29 U. S. C. (Supp. III) § 141, § 159 (h), amending the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, 49 Stat. 449, 29 U. S. C. § 151 et seq. |