Cynthia Estlund
In this wide-ranging, critical survey of the Supreme Court's labor law decisions, Julius G. Getman displays the practical wisdom and acuity that has made him one of the nation's leading labor law teachers and scholars for more than a half century. Even the most attentive students and scholars of labor law will find valuable insights in this book.
James J. Brudney
Julius G. Getman deftly demonstrates how the Supreme Court—over many decades—has restrained the protections and possibilities contained in the National Labor Relations Act, one of the major achievements of the New Deal era. He paints a detailed and disturbing picture of Court-imposed limitations on workers' ability to exert lawful economic pressure and to vindicate their collective voice. In doing so, Getman brings welcome historical perspective to the current state of U.S. labor law, and situates the Court as an important contributor to the NLRA’s weakened status.
Craig Becker
For more than half a century, Julius G. Getman has brought to the study of labor law not simply the analytical rigor of a law professor, but a hunger for facts—to understand the effects of legal rules on human behavior—and the empathy of a participant-observer—whether among paper workers in Maine, clerical workers at Yale, or university professors across the country.Getman's unique and invaluable perspective is fully on display in this tour through the Supreme Court’s labor jurisprudence.
John W. Wilhelm
Julius G. Getman's terrific new book supports in detail his thesis that 'the Supreme Court has played a major role in transforming the National Labor Relations Act from a law meant to empower workers to a law that helps to sustain the power of employers.’ He shows that this reactionary Supreme Court role began almost immediately after the passage of the NLRA, that it has continued through Democratic and Republican majorities on the Court, and in particular that the Supreme Court’s gutting of the strike weapon has drastically tilted collective bargaining against workers and toward corporations. Getman’s keen analysis is informed and strengthened by his unusual combination of academic legal scholarship, research on the reality of labor law in the workplace, and personal involvement.