Bowen v. United States Postal Service
459 U.S. 212 · Decided January 11, 1983 · 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
Bowen v. United States Postal Service was decided on January 11, 1983 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Union-union member disputes” in the Unions area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 459 U.S. 212 · 103 S. Ct. 588 · 74 L. Ed. 2d 402 · 1983 U.S. LEXIS 123
- Docket number
- 81-525
- Decided
- January 11, 1983
- Argued
- October 6, 1982
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Lewis F. Powell Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Union-union member disputes
- Issue area
- Unions
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Bowen v. United States Postal Service et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1982-016, docket 1982-016-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Union-union member disputes”
- Delcostello v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters
- Finnegan v. Leu
- Local No. 82 v. Crowley
- Pattern Makers' League of North America v. National Labor Relations Board
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers v. Foust
- West v. Conrail
Same Term, same area (Unions)
- Shepard v. National Labor Relations Board
- Metropolitan Edison Co. v. National Labor Relations Board
- Jim McNeff, Inc. v. Todd
- Delcostello v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters
- National Labor Relations Board v. Transportation Management Corp.
- Edward J. Debartolo Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board
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