Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Co. v. Railway Labor Executives' Association
491 U.S. 490 · Decided June 21, 1989 · 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
Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Co. v. Railway Labor Executives' Association was decided on June 21, 1989 by a vote of 5–4. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Labor-management bargaining” in the Unions area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 491 U.S. 490 · 109 S. Ct. 2584 · 105 L. Ed. 2d 415 · 1989 U.S. LEXIS 3121
- Docket number
- 87-1589
- Decided
- June 21, 1989
- Argued
- March 29, 1989
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Labor-management bargaining
- Issue area
- Unions
- Legal provision
- Railway Labor Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority |
Full case caption
Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Co. v. Railway Labor Executives' Association
SCDB identifiers: case 1988-126, docket 1988-126-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Labor-management bargaining”
- National Labor Relations Board v. Curtin Matheson Scientific, Inc.
- Department of the Treasury v. Federal Labor Relations Authority
- Fort Stewart Schools v. Federal Labor Relations Authority
- Federal Labor Relations Authority v. Aberdeen Proving Ground
- American Hospital Association v. National Labor Relations Board
- Fall River Dyeing & Finishing Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board
Cases on the same legal provision: Railway Labor Act
- Consolidated Rail Corporation v. Railway Labor Executives' Association
- Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Independent Federation of Flight Attendants
- Landers v. National Railroad Passengers Corporation
- Burlington Northern Railroad Co. v. Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes
- Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. v. Grant T. Norris
- Ellis v. Brotherhood of Railway
Same Term, same area (Unions)
- Reed v. United Transportation Union
- Sheet Metal Workers' International Assn. v. Lynn
- Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Independent Federation of Flight Attendants
- Consolidated Rail Corporation v. Railway Labor Executives' Association
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