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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Coppage v. Kansas
Citation:
236 U.S. 1 (1915)Facts
In July 1911, Hedges was employed as a switchman by the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company and was a member of the Switchmen’s Union of North America. Coppage, as superintendent of the railway company, presented Hedges with a written agreement requiring him to withdraw from the union while in the service of the company. Coppage informed Hedges that if he did not sign the agreement, he could not remain employed by the company. The evidence showed that membership in the union entitled Hedges to benefits in the nature of insurance amounting to fifteen hundred dollars, which he would forfeit if he ceased to be a member. Hedges refused to sign the agreement and refused to withdraw from the labor organization. Consequently, Coppage discharged him from the company’s service. Coppage was subsequently prosecuted and convicted under the Kansas statute, which made it a criminal offense for an employer to require an employee to agree not to join or remain a member of a labor organization as a condition of employment.
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