The Supreme Court has, since 2019, made a string of decisions narrowing labor unions’ power to recruit and run their memberships. One such decision, Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, 594 U.S. (2021), states that a regulation in California law allowing union organizers the right to enter an agricultural employer’s private property to recruit and organize those workers violates the employer’s federal constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment. 

The regulation had been in operation since 1975 and allowed union organizers to meet with workers for an hour before work, after work and during lunch breaks for as many as 120 days per year. The contention was due to the owner of Cedar Point Nursery having found union reps on his property in the early morning hours without proper notice. 

Although long-term repercussions are not yet completely clear, the ruling’s implications for could be significant for contractors working in the state.