In the 1950 case of Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway & Motor Coach Employees of America, Division 998, et al. v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Board et al., the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Wisconsin Employment Relations Board (WERB). The dispute arose when a labor union called for a strike against The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company after negotiations over wage increases failed. WERB ordered an end to the strike as it was deemed detrimental to public welfare due to disruption in transportation services. When taken to court by the union claiming that this order violated their rights under federal law, both state courts and ultimately Supreme Court upheld WERB's decision stating that states have authority over local matters such as these unless explicitly overridden by Congress.

In the dissenting opinion for the case of Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway & Motor Coach Employees of America, Division 998, et al. v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Board et al., Justice Black disagreed with the majority's decision to uphold a state law that prohibited public employees from striking. He argued that this ruling was inconsistent with previous decisions which recognized workers' rights to strike as part of their freedom to associate and bargain collectively under the First Amendment. Furthermore, he contended that by denying these employees their right to strike, they were being denied an essential tool in negotiating fair wages and working conditions - effectively undermining their bargaining power against employers who could exploit this imbalance in power relations. In his view, such a prohibition on strikes would only serve to exacerbate labor disputes rather than resolve them peacefully through negotiation and compromise.