The case of American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., et al. v. Writers Guild of America, West, Inc., et al., 1977 revolved around a dispute between television networks and writers over the issue of "reruns". The Writers Guild argued that they should receive additional compensation when their work was rerun on television while the broadcasting companies disagreed. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the broadcasters stating that under Section 301(b) of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA), federal courts did not have jurisdiction to enforce collective bargaining agreements by awarding damages for breach thereof or specific performance thereof absent violation of a labor organization's duty to represent its members fairly. This meant that unless it could be proven that there was an unfair representation from their union, individual writers could not seek additional compensation for reruns through federal court action.

The dissenting opinion in the case of American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., et al. v. Writers Guild of America, West, Inc., et al., argued that the majority's decision to uphold a California law prohibiting employers from firing employees for engaging in peaceful picketing was incorrect and overstepped federal jurisdiction. The dissenters believed that this ruling interfered with the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which they saw as providing exclusive regulation over labor disputes at a national level. They also expressed concern about potential conflicts between state laws and collective bargaining agreements under NLRA if states were allowed to intervene in such matters. Additionally, they disagreed with the majority's interpretation of "labor dispute", arguing it should not include situations where an employer is not directly involved or has no control over working conditions being protested against.