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Supreme Court · Decisions

First National Maintenance Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board

452 U.S. 666 · No. 80-544 · 1980 term · Burger Court

Decided Jun 22, 1981 · argued Apr 21, 1981

Unions · Labor-management disputes: miscellaneous dispute

Majority opinion: Harry Blackmun

The voteMajorityDissent

7–27 in the majority, 2 in dissent

2 dissents (7–2)

Reversed and remanded. First National Maintenance Corp. won.

What this ruling means

Reversed and remanded: the Supreme Court overturned the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit and sent the case back to that court for further proceedings that follow the Supreme Court’s ruling.

First National Maintenance Corp. was the petitioner, the side that asked the Supreme Court to review the case. “Won” means the Court gave 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 1980 term. Filled: the 7 in the majority. Hollow: the 2 in dissent. Colour is the party of the president who appointed them.

More liberalMore conservativeMedianMarshallBrennanStevensBlackmunWhiteStewartPowellBurgerRehnquist

Majority(7)

Dissent(2)

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
First National Maintenance Corp.Employer
Respondent
National Labor Relations BoardNational Labor Relations Board, or regional office or officer
Reached the Court by
Certiorari (the Court chose to hear it)
Why it was taken
Federal appeals courts had ruled differently, and the question was important
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
National Labor Relations, as amended
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 22, 1981DecidedDecided · Decided 7–2: reversed and remanded. First National Maintenance Corp. won.
  2. Apr 21, 1981ArguedArgued · Oral argument before the Court.
  3. Not datedTaken upTaken up · The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case (certiorari). Federal appeals courts had ruled differently, and the question was important.
  4. Not datedCourt belowCourt below · Began in and was decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit: affirmed, with a dissent.
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

19 other argued cases since 1946 on labor-management disputes: miscellaneous dispute, newest first.

  1. Salinas v. U.S. Railroad Retirement Board141 S. Ct. 691Feb 3, 2021 · 141 S. Ct. 691Unions5–45–4 band

  2. Be & K Construction Company v. National Labor Relations Board et al.536 U.S. 516Jun 24, 2002 · 536 U.S. 516Unions9–0Unanimous band
  3. National Labor Relations Board v. Health Care & Retirement Corporation of America511 U.S. 571May 23, 1994 · 511 U.S. 571Unions5–45–4 band
  4. Detroit Edison Co. v. National Labor Relations Board440 U.S. 301Mar 5, 1979 · 440 U.S. 301Unions5–45–4 band
  5. Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers International Union, AFL-CIO, et al. v. Mobil Oil Corp., Marine Transportation Department, Gulf-East Coast Operations426 U.S. 407Jun 14, 1976 · 426 U.S. 407Unions7–27–2 band
  6. City of Charlotte et al. v. Local 660, International Association of Firefighters, et al.426 U.S. 283Jun 7, 1976 · 426 U.S. 283Unions9–0Unanimous band
  7. Howard Johnson Co., Inc. v. Detroit Local Joint Executive Board, Hotel & Restaurant Employees & Bartenders International Union, AFL-CIO417 U.S. 249Jun 3, 1974 · 417 U.S. 249Unions8–18–1 band
  8. Brotherhood of Railway & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employees, AFL-CIO, et al. v. Florida East Coast Railway Co.384 U.S. 238May 23, 1966 · 384 U.S. 238Unions7–18–1 band
  9. National Labor Relations Board v. Brown et al., dba Brown Food Store, et al.380 U.S. 278Mar 29, 1965 · 380 U.S. 278Unions8–18–1 band
  10. Textile Workers Union of America v. Darlington Manufacturing Co. et al.380 U.S. 263Mar 29, 1965 · 380 U.S. 263Unions7–0Unanimous band

  11. National Labor Relations Board v. Reliance Fuel Oil Corp.371 U.S. 224Jan 7, 1963 · 371 U.S. 224Unions9–0Unanimous band
  12. Retail Clerks International Association, Local Unions Nos. 128 and 633, v. Lion Dry Goods, Inc., et al.369 U.S. 17Feb 26, 1962 · 369 U.S. 17Unions9–0Unanimous band
  13. Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, et al. v. National Labor Relations Board362 U.S. 479May 2, 1960 · 362 U.S. 479Unions9–0Unanimous band
  14. Goodall-Sanford, Inc., v. United Textile Workers of America, A. F. L. Local 1802, et al.353 U.S. 550Jun 3, 1957 · 353 U.S. 550Unions7–18–1 band
  15. Textile Workers Union of America v. Lincoln Mills of Alabama353 U.S. 448Jun 3, 1957 · 353 U.S. 448Unions7–18–1 band
  16. General Electric Co. v. Local 205, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (U. E.)353 U.S. 547Jun 2, 1957 · 353 U.S. 547Unions7–18–1 band
  17. National Labor Relations Board v. Truck Drivers Local Union No. 449, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, A. F. L.353 U.S. 87Apr 1, 1957 · 353 U.S. 87Unions8–0Unanimous band
  18. Bakery Sales Drivers Local Union No. 33 et al. v. Wagshal, Trading As Wagshal's Delicatessen333 U.S. 437Mar 15, 1948 · 333 U.S. 437Unions5–36–3 band
  19. Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co. et al.331 U.S. 519Jun 9, 1947 · 331 U.S. 519Unions9–0Unanimous 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.