Plant v. Woods
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
57 N.E. 1011 (1900)
- Written by Patricia Peters, JD
Facts
Union 257, Painters and Decorators of America (the Baltimore union) (defendants) was affiliated with a national organization headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1897, several members of the Baltimore union withdrew to form a new painters’ union (the Lafayette union) (plaintiffs), which was affiliated with a different organization headquartered in Lafayette, Indiana. In September 1898, the Baltimore union declared painters who were not in the Baltimore union to be “non-union men.” Members of the Baltimore union attempted to persuade nonmember painters—including members of the Lafayette union—to join the Baltimore union, occasionally using threats and intimidation if peaceful methods failed. On October 7, 1898, the Baltimore union voted to boycott, strike at, or threaten to strike at any workplace that employed members of the Lafayette union. In carrying out this plan, the Baltimore union sought to compel members of the Lafayette union to either join the Baltimore union or risk losing their jobs. The Springfield, Massachusetts, branch of the Lafayette union sought and was granted an injunction against the Baltimore union. The Baltimore union appealed, arguing that there was nothing illegal about workers agreeing to stop working at a coordinated time and thus that boycotts and strikes were not inherently illegal.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Hammond, J.)
Dissent (Holmes, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 824,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 989 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.