Union Strike Power Under Threat as Supreme Court Mulls Labor Law

An upcoming US Supreme Court case has the potential to chill unions’ use of strikes as a bargaining strategy and tilt the balance of power in labor-management relations more toward businesses.

The justices last week agreed to consider the question of whether there’s an exception to federal labor law preemption of state lawsuits if the employer makes common-law allegations of intentional destruction of property during a labor dispute.

Such an exception likely will trigger costly employer lawsuits against striking unions based on the economic consequences of their protests and spark legislation in conservative-leaning states to restrict union conduct during strikes, ...