The U.S. Supreme Court case Los Angeles Meat & Provision Drivers Union et al. v. United States in 1962 revolved around the issue of labor union activities and their potential violation of antitrust laws, specifically the Sherman Act which prohibits certain business activities that federal government regulators deem to be anti-competitive. The court ruled against the unions, asserting that they had indeed violated these laws by engaging in a conspiracy to restrain trade through picketing aimed at forcing retailers and wholesalers not to handle nonunion products or deal with nonunion markets. This decision was significant as it clarified how far labor organizations could go in pursuing their objectives before crossing into illegal territory under antitrust legislation.

In the dissenting opinion for Los Angeles Meat & Provision Drivers Union et al. v. United States, Justice Black argued that the Sherman Act should not be applied to labor unions as it was originally intended to regulate business enterprises and prevent monopolies. He contended that applying this act to labor disputes would undermine collective bargaining rights of workers and interfere with their ability to strike or boycott, which are essential tools in negotiations with employers. Furthermore, he believed that such application could potentially criminalize union activities protected by federal law under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). In his view, Congress had already established a comprehensive regulatory scheme for labor relations through NLRA and other statutes; therefore using antitrust laws like the Sherman Act was unnecessary and inappropriate interference into matters of labor policy.