Union Made: Labor’s Litigation for Social Change

Unions are key repeat players before the Supreme Court. Their involvement extends beyond what one might expect (labor) and extends to key cases involving federalism, discrimination, affirmative action, the First Amendment, and workplace health and safety, among others. Though scholars have written about how other union activity, like collective bargaining, impacts non-union workers, the role and impact of union participation in non-labor litigation has largely been ignored in the public debate over unions in America and in the academic literature about what unions do. This article focuses on unions’ Supreme Court litigation that arises outside of the context of traditional labor law; in order to show how union-made law affects interests beyond those of the labor movement, its members, and unionized employers. It reveals how union-made law has had significant effects on the structure of American government and society