Abstract
Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. San Diego County District Council of Carpenters resolves the problem of a jurisdictional hiatus facing an employer when a union's peaceful picketing on his property is within the ambit of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or the Act). Prior to the Sears decision, the right of the states to enjoin labor union picketing on an employer's private property, when the union's picketing was arguably protected and arguably prohibited, was uncertain. As a rule, conduct which is arguably protected under the Act or arguably prohibited under the Act, with few exceptions, cannot be the subject of litigation in state courts. However, on the sensitive issue of picketing on private property, state court decisions were in disarray with some courts ruling state trespass laws could be used against union members on private property and other courts ruling that state jurisdiction was preempted by the NLRA. Both the Warren Court and the Burger Court had left the issue open by consis- tently refusing to grant certiorari.
Recommended Citation
Keith Barker,
Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. San Diego County District Council of Carpenters: Garmon Reconsidered and the Reaffirmation of Property Rights,
13
U. Rich. L. Rev.
351
(1979).
Available at:
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/lawreview/vol13/iss2/10