The U.S. Supreme Court case Giboney et al. v. Empire Storage & Ice Co., 1948, revolved around a dispute between a labor union and an ice company in Missouri. The union picketed the ice company to force it to stop selling its products to non-union peddlers, which was considered as restraint of trade under state law and therefore illegal. The court ruled that although unions generally have the right to picket peacefully, this does not extend protection for actions intended directly at violating valid state laws such as those against restraint of trade or other recognized public policies like promoting fair competition among businesses by preventing monopolistic practices.

In the dissenting opinion for Giboney et al. v. Empire Storage & Ice Co., Justice Wiley Rutledge argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state court injunction against picketing violated First Amendment rights of free speech and assembly. He contended that peaceful picketing, even with an unlawful objective, should be protected by constitutional guarantees unless it involves violence or intimidation. The justice emphasized that labor disputes are matters of public concern and thus deserve protection under the First Amendment; he also warned about potential misuse of injunctions in labor disputes which could undermine workers' rights to protest their conditions effectively. Furthermore, he disagreed with the majority's view on secondary boycotts as inherently illegal activities - instead arguing they were legitimate tools used by unions in collective bargaining processes.