The U.S. Supreme Court case Order of Railway Conductors of America et al. v. Pitney et al., Trustees of Central Railroad Co. Of New Jersey, et al., 1945 dealt with a dispute over the interpretation and enforcement of collective bargaining agreements between railway companies and their employees' unions during bankruptcy proceedings for the railroad company in question - The Central Railroad Company of New Jersey (CRRNJ). The union claimed that CRRNJ had violated its agreement by failing to adhere to seniority rules when assigning conductors to jobs, while CRRNJ argued that it was not bound by such terms due to its ongoing reorganization under federal bankruptcy laws. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the union stating that federal law did not absolve bankrupt employers from honoring labor contracts unless those contracts impeded successful financial restructuring efforts.

In the dissenting opinion for Order of Railway Conductors of America et al. v. Pitney et al., Trustees of Central Railroad Co. Of New Jersey, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling allowing trustees in bankruptcy to alter or terminate existing labor contracts without approval from employees or their unions was fundamentally flawed and unfair. The dissenting justices believed this interpretation gave too much power to employers at the expense of workers' rights, undermining collective bargaining agreements and violating principles established by federal labor laws such as the Railway Labor Act (RLA). They contended that these laws were designed specifically to protect railroad workers from unilateral changes in working conditions imposed by management during bankruptcy proceedings, which they felt should be respected even when companies are facing financial difficulties.