In the 1983 case Local No. 82, Furniture & Piano Movers, Furniture Store Drivers, Helpers, Warehousemen & Packers v. Crowley et al., the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of a group of non-union workers who alleged that they were being discriminated against by their unionized colleagues and employers. The plaintiffs argued that despite paying union dues as required by their employment contracts, they were not receiving equal job opportunities or fair treatment due to their non-union status. The court agreed with this argument and held that unions have a duty to represent all employees fairly regardless of whether they are members or not under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This ruling clarified an important aspect of labor law: while unions can negotiate on behalf of its members for better wages and working conditions, it cannot discriminate against non-members when representing them before management.

In the dissenting opinion for Local No. 82, Furniture & Piano Movers, et al. v. Crowley et al., Justice Blackmun argued that the majority's decision to allow a lawsuit against a union for damages resulting from an alleged breach of duty of fair representation was misguided and inconsistent with previous court rulings on similar issues. He contended that such lawsuits should be limited to cases where there is clear evidence of discriminatory or bad faith conduct by the union, not simply when it fails to achieve desired outcomes in collective bargaining negotiations or grievance procedures due to negligence or error in judgment. Furthermore, he expressed concern about potential negative impacts on unions' ability and willingness to represent their members effectively if they are exposed to potentially large damage awards based on unrealistic expectations or dissatisfaction among some members with negotiation results.