In the case of Pullman Company et al. v. Jenkins et al., 1938, the U.S Supreme Court dealt with a labor dispute between The Pullman Company and its employees represented by Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP). The BSCP had filed charges against Pullman for unfair labor practices under Section 7(a) of the National Industrial Recovery Act, alleging that it interfered with, restrained and coerced its employees in their rights to self-organization and collective bargaining. However, before these charges could be resolved administratively or judicially, Congress enacted the Railway Labor Act which provided new procedures for resolving such disputes but did not specify whether pending cases should proceed under old or new law. The Supreme Court held that since Congress had not expressly stated how pending cases were to be handled when enacting the Railway Labor Act; they must continue under existing laws until final adjudication unless there is clear evidence showing Congressional intent otherwise. Therefore, this case was remanded back to lower courts for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

In the dissenting opinion for Pullman Company et al. v. Jenkins et al., Justice Black argued that the Supreme Court should not have taken jurisdiction over this case, as it was a matter of state law and did not involve any substantial federal questions. He believed that by taking up this case, the court was unnecessarily interfering with state courts' ability to interpret their own laws and regulations. Furthermore, he disagreed with the majority's interpretation of Illinois labor laws and felt they had misapplied them in their decision-making process. In his view, these laws were designed to protect workers from unfair treatment by employers rather than limit workers' rights or abilities to strike or protest against poor working conditions or wages.