Burlington Northern Railroad Co. v. Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes

481 U.S. 429 · Decided April 28, 1987 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Burlington Northern Railroad Co. v. Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes was decided on April 28, 1987 unanimously (9–0). The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Labor-management secondary activity” 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

Burlington Northern Railroad Co. et al. v. Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1986-085, docket 1986-085-01.

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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