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Supreme Court · Decisions

National Labor Relations Board v. Natural Gas Utility District of Hawkins County, Tennessee

402 U.S. 600 · No. 785 · 1970 term · Burger Court

Decided Jun 1, 1971 · argued Apr 20, 1971

Unions · Labor-management disputes: representative election

Majority opinion: William Brennan

The voteMajorityDissent

8–18 in the majority, 1 in dissent

1 dissent (8–1)

Affirmed. National Labor Relations Board lost.

What this ruling means

Affirmed: the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, so it stands (sometimes with changes the Court made to it).

National Labor Relations Board was the petitioner, the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the case. “Lost” means the Court did not give that side the result it asked for.

From the Supreme Court Database. A justice who agreed with the result but not the reasoning counts in the majority.

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Summary

The opening of the case’s Wikipedia article: what the case was about and what the Court held.

Wikipedia has no article on this case, so there is no summary.

Data notes

The text is Wikipedia’s (CC BY-SA 4.0), matched to the case by its citation, docket number or name and year, and is not checked against the opinion. The site keeps the article’s opening section, ending on its last full sentence. The one-sentence summary under the title is the Decisions list’s: Wikipedia’s own ruling sentence, or, tagged “AI-written”, one Claude wrote from this opening.

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How the justices voted

Each justice who took part, placed by their Martin–Quinn ideology score for the 1970 term. Filled: the 8 in the majority. Hollow: the 1 in dissent. Colour is the party of the president who appointed them.

More liberalMore conservativeMedianDouglasBrennanMarshallBlackWhiteStewartHarlanBlackmunBurger

Majority(8)

Dissent(1)

Data notes

Each justice’s vote and what they wrote are from the justice-centered file of the Supreme Court Database. “Wrote a concurrence” means the justice sided with the majority and wrote separately; a justice who dissented in part is counted on the side they took overall. A justice who wrote nothing is listed as joining their side.

Positions are each justice’s Martin–Quinn score for the case’s term, the same scores as the Ideology page: negative is more liberal, positive more conservative. A score sums up a justice’s votes across the whole term, so it says where they usually sit, not why they voted as they did here. The median line is the Court’s median justice that term.

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The parties

Who brought the case to the Court, who answered it, and how it got there.

Petitioner
National Labor Relations BoardNational Labor Relations Board, or regional office or officer
Respondent
Natural Gas Utility District of Hawkins County, TennesseeCounty government or county governmental unit, except school district (Tennessee)
Reached the Court by
Certiorari (the Court chose to hear it)
Data notes

The names are the two sides of the case’s title. The description under each is the Supreme Court Database’s category for that party, in its own wording. The petitioner is the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the decision below. “Why it was taken” appears only when the majority opinion says lower courts disagreed or were unsure about the question; reasons that would fit any case (“to resolve the question presented”, “an important question”) are left out.

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The law at issue

The law the Court was asked to apply, and the kind of power it used to decide.

Provision
Labor-Management Relations
Kind of law
Federal Statute
Decided by
Statutory construction; Interpretation of administrative regulation or rule, or executive order
Data notes

The Supreme Court Database codes the main constitutional provision, statute or court rule each case turned on, and the basis of the decision: judicial review of a federal or state law, interpreting a statute, supervising the lower courts, and so on. A case can rest on more than one. “Overruled” counts only where the majority opinion says so.

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Timeline

What happened at the Court and how the case got there, newest first.

  1. Jun 1, 1971DecidedDecided · Decided 8–1: affirmed. National Labor Relations Board lost.
  2. Apr 20, 1971ArguedArgued · Oral argument before the Court.
  3. Not datedTaken upTaken up · The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case (certiorari).
  4. Not datedCourt belowCourt below · Began in and was decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit: reversed.
Data notes

From the Supreme Court Database: the court the case began in, the court whose decision the Supreme Court reviewed and what that court did, how the case came to the Court, and the dates of argument and decision. The database does not date the steps in the lower courts. Court names are the database’s.

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Other decisions on the same issue

15 other argued cases since 1946 on labor-management disputes: representative election, newest first.

  1. National Labor Relations Board v. Kentucky River Community Care, Inc., et al.532 U.S. 706May 29, 2001 · 532 U.S. 706Unions5–45–4 band
  2. Allentown Mack Sales and Service, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board522 U.S. 359Jan 26, 1998 · 522 U.S. 359Unions5–45–4 band
  3. Auciello Iron Works, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board517 U.S. 781Jun 3, 1996 · 517 U.S. 781Unions9–0Unanimous band
  4. Holly Farms Corporation et al. v. National Labor Relations Labor Board et al.517 U.S. 392Apr 23, 1996 · 517 U.S. 392Unions5–45–4 band
  5. National Labor Relations Board v. Financial Institution Employees of America, Local 1182, Chartered by United Food & Commercial Workers International Union, AFL-CIO, et al.475 U.S. 192Feb 26, 1986 · 475 U.S. 192Unions9–0Unanimous band
  6. National Labor Relations Board v. Savair Manufacturing Co.414 U.S. 270Dec 17, 1973 · 414 U.S. 270Unions6–36–3 band
  7. Magnesium Casting Co. v. National Labor Relations Board401 U.S. 137Feb 23, 1971 · 401 U.S. 137Unions9–0Unanimous band
  8. National Labor Relations Board v. Raytheon Co. et al.398 U.S. 25May 18, 1970 · 398 U.S. 25Unions8–0Unanimous band
  9. Boire, Regional Director, Twelfth Region, National Labor Relations Board, v. Greyhound Corporation376 U.S. 473Mar 23, 1964 · 376 U.S. 473Unions8–18–1 band

  10. National Labor Relations Board v. Exchange Parts Co.375 U.S. 405Jan 13, 1964 · 375 U.S. 405Unions9–0Unanimous band
  11. McCulloch, Chairman, National Labor Relations Board, et al. v. Sociedad Nacional de Marineros de Honduras372 U.S. 10Feb 18, 1963 · 372 U.S. 10Unions8–0Unanimous band
  12. International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, AFL-CIO, v. National Labor Relations Board et al.366 U.S. 731Jun 5, 1961 · 366 U.S. 731Unions7–27–2 band
  13. National Labor Relations Board v. Mattison Machine Works365 U.S. 123Jan 23, 1961 · 365 U.S. 123Unions9–0Unanimous band
  14. National Labor Relations Board v. District 50, United Mine Workers of America, et al.355 U.S. 453Feb 3, 1958 · 355 U.S. 453Unions9–0Unanimous band
  15. National Labor Relations Board v. A. J. Tower Co.329 U.S. 324Dec 23, 1946 · 329 U.S. 324Unions8–18–1 band
Data notes

Every other orally argued case with a clear vote, from the 1946 term on, that the Supreme Court Database files under the same issue as this one. The database gives each case one issue from a list of about 270 (abortion, search and seizure of vehicles, the death penalty, and so on), whatever law it turned on.

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Official record

Read the full opinion on Justia and the argument audio on Oyez. Case data from the Supreme Court Database, Version 2026 Release 01, through the 2025 term.