Clayton v. International Union

451 U.S. 679 · Decided May 26, 1981 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Clayton v. International Union was decided on May 26, 1981 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision in part and reversed or vacated it in part. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Arbitration in labor-management disputes” in the Unions area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Clayton v. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, & Agricultural Implement Workers of America, et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1980-097, docket 1980-097-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: Labor-Management Relations Act

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Same Term, same area (Unions)

• Barrentine v. Arkansas-Best Freight System, Inc.
  450 U.S. 728Decided April 6, 19817–2William J. Brennan Jr.
• United Parcel Service, Inc. v. Mitchell
  451 U.S. 56Decided April 20, 19819–0William H. Rehnquist
• Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Reis
  451 U.S. 401Decided May 4, 19817–2William J. Brennan Jr.
• H. A. Artists & Associates, Inc. v. Actors' Equity Assn.
  451 U.S. 704Decided May 26, 19816–3Potter Stewart
• American Textile Manufacturers Institute, Inc. v. Donovan
  452 U.S. 490Decided June 17, 19815–3William J. Brennan Jr.
• First National Maintenance Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board
  452 U.S. 666Decided June 22, 19817–2Harry A. Blackmun

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Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error