The Court therefore ruled that “solicitation of government action” could not be a violation of the Sherman Act. Black, writing for the Court, described the “true nature of the case - a ‘no-holds-barred fight’ between two industries both of which are seeking control of a profitable source of income.” He found that the main goal of the railroads’ public relations campaign was to influence government policy and legislation - specifically, to enforce existing trucking regulations more strictly and to pass new legislation tightening restrictions. A group of Pennsylvania truck operators and their trade association sued, alleging that the railroads’ campaign violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 by seeking to destroy trucking competition. Noerr Motor Freight (1961), the Supreme Court confronted a conflict that developed after an association of railroad presidents hired a public relations firm both to lobby the Pennsylvania government to pass laws restricting the ability of truckers to carry freight on the state’s roads and to conduct a negative publicity campaign against truckers. In Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference v. Court decided that solicitation of the government did not violate anti-trust laws There is thus a tension between the First Amendment rights of boycott organizers to convince others to join their campaign of petitioning for change, and antitrust and restraint of trade laws intended to prohibit harmful economic manipulation, such as price fixing or conspiratorial behavior. Boycotts, however, are organized campaigns to influence other peoples’ choices. In a series of cases, the Supreme Court has established an analysis of boycotts that considers the following issues: Is economic damage to the targeted businesses the goal or the means of the boycott? Is the goal to influence political action or merely to inflict economic harm on the businesses?Īn individual consumer’s choice of whether to patronize a certain business is a private action that does not raise any First Amendment issues. Trade laws and First Amendment rights of boycott organizers conflict Courts have recognized boycotts as having First Amendment protection under limited circumstances. Through boycotts, groups agree and often attempt to persuade others to refuse to patronize certain businesses. (AP Photo, used with permission from the Associated Press) In this photo, Florida A & M University student Ruby Powell thumbs a ride during the pro-integration Tallahassee bus boycott, June 1, 1956. Courts have recognized boycotts as having First Amendment protection if their goal is to influence political and social change rather than to obtain economic gain. Finally, in the Epilogue the participant feedback regarding the conference is reviewed.Through boycotts, groups agree and often attempt to persuade others to refuse to patronize certain businesses. Part IV is concerned with comparative industrial relations, while value issues and conflict are the focus of Part V. In Part III, three empirical studies of conflict are dis cussed. The manifestations of conflict and different modes of conflict management are the subject of the chapters in Part II. The chap ters that follow in Part I deal with differing conflict conditions and defini tions and their implications for managing conflict. The book opens with a chapter by George Strauss, who provides an in troduction to and an overall view of the subject matter covered. One of the principal aims of the conference was to explore cross-links and differences between the areas of conflict management and industrial relations in an international context. Held at Nijenrode Castle, the confer ence brought together an international gathering of thirty-five of the most distinguished scholars in these fields to present research papers and to en gage in round-table discussions. This volume contains a selection of the most notable contributions delivered at the research conference "Industrial Relations and Conflict Management: Different Ways of Managing Conflict," which was hosted by the Nether lands School of Business in July 1980.
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