The U.S. Supreme Court case Federal Maritime Commission et al. v. Pacific Maritime Association et al., 1977, revolved around the issue of whether or not the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) had jurisdiction over labor agreements made by maritime associations and their employees under the Shipping Act of 1916. The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), a group representing shipping companies on the West Coast, argued that such labor disputes fell outside FMC's purview and should be handled by National Labor Relations Board instead. However, in a unanimous decision led by Justice William Rehnquist, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of FMC stating that it did have authority to review these agreements as they directly affected commerce rates and practices within ocean shipping industry which was under its regulatory control according to Shipping Act.

In the dissenting opinion for Federal Maritime Commission v. Pacific Maritime Association, Justice Rehnquist disagreed with the majority's interpretation of Section 15 of the Shipping Act. He argued that this section does not grant power to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to regulate labor agreements between maritime associations and unions. According to him, Congress intended for such matters to be governed by national labor policy rather than shipping laws. The FMC’s intervention in these affairs would disrupt established collective bargaining processes and potentially lead to unnecessary conflicts between federal agencies overseeing different aspects of maritime operations. Furthermore, he noted that there was no clear evidence indicating Congress wanted or expected FMC involvement in labor relations when it enacted Section 15.