Congress of Industrial Organizations v. McAdory

Congress of Industrial Organizations v. McAdory was a 1949 Supreme Court case addressing whether individuals could be punished for boycotting a business that refused to recognize a union. The Court ruled that such boycotts are protected by the First Amendment’s free speech rights, meaning workers have a right to protest and refuse to buy from companies opposing unions without fear of legal punishment. This decision reinforced the importance of free expression in labor disputes and clarified limits on government power to penalize certain forms of collective activism.