Railway Employes' Department v. Hanson
351 U.S. 225 · Decided May 21, 1956 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Railway Employes' Department v. Hanson was decided on May 21, 1956 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Union or closed shop” in the Unions area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 351 U.S. 225 · 76 S. Ct. 714 · 100 L. Ed. 2d 1112 · 1956 U.S. LEXIS 1715
- Docket number
- 451
- Decided
- May 21, 1956
- Argued
- May 2, 1956
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Union or closed shop
- Issue area
- Unions
- Legal provision
- Railway Labor Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Justice Sherman Minton | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority |
Full case caption
Railway Employes' Department, American Federation of Labor, et al. v. Hanson et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1955-083, docket 1955-083-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Union or closed shop”
- Pennsylvania Railroad Co. v. Rychlik
- Felter v. Southern Pacific Co.
- Local Union No. 10 v. Graham
- Local Lodge No. 1424 v. National Labor Relations Board
- System Federation No. 91 v. Wright
- Local 60 v. National Labor Relations Board
Cases on the same legal provision: Railway Labor Act
- Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Chicago River & Indiana Railroad Co.
- California v. Taylor
- Conleyv. Gibson
- Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc. v. Koppal
- Pennsylvania Railroad Co. v. Day
- Union Pacific Railroad Co. v. Price
Same Term, same area (Unions)
- Mitchell v. Myrtle Grove Packing Co.
- Steiner v. Mitchell
- Mitchell v. King Packing Co.
- National Labor Relations Board v. Cocacola Bottling Co. of Louisville, Inc.
- Mastro Plastics Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board
- United States v. Ryan
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