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We the People

Labor Rights and Property Rights at SCOTUS

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 26 March 2021

⏱️ 51 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On March 23, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid. Broadly, the case pits the rights of unions to communicate with workers who work and largely live on site versus the rights of business owners to keep people off of their private property. More specifically, the case asks whether California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Act, which allows union organizers to be granted temporary access to speak to agricultural employees on worksites—which are largely private property—amounts to a taking of property without just compensation that violated the Fifth Amendment. Hugh Baran and Robert McNamara joined Jeffrey Rosen to explain both sides of the case. McNamara, a senior staff attorney at Institute for Justice, filed an amicus brief in support of Cedar Point Nursery while Hugh Baran, staff attorney and Skadden Fellow at National Employment Law project, filed an amicus brief in support of the chair of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, Victoria Hassid.  A term that will be helpful to know for this week: “Taking”: The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution says: “Nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” A taking is when the government seizes private property for public use. Typically, a “just compensation” is determined by an appraisal of the property’s fair market value. Courts have broadly interpreted the Fifth Amendment to allow the government to seize property if doing so will increase the general public welfare. Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Transcript

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0:00.0

I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and welcome to We

0:07.8

the People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.

0:11.6

The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.

0:22.0

On March 22nd, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Cedar Point Nursery versus

0:27.6

Hossett.

0:28.6

The case could have implications for the future of unions, property rights, and more.

0:34.0

Today we'll explore those implications and recap the argument

0:37.2

with two of America's leading experts.

0:40.1

Robert McNamara is senior attorney with the Institute for Justice.

0:45.6

He co-authored an amicus brief that the Institute for Justice filed

0:49.2

on behalf of the petitioners, including Cedar Point Nursery.

0:53.7

Robert, thank you so much for joining.

0:55.8

Thanks for having me.

0:56.8

It's great to be here.

0:58.0

And Hugh Barron is a senior staff attorney and Skadden fellow at the National Employment Law Project.

1:03.9

He co-authored an amicus brief that the National Employment Law Project filed on behalf of

1:08.2

Victoria Hossid, the chair of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, and the respondent in this case.

1:14.0

Hugh, it is great to have you with us.

1:16.0

Thank you. It's great to be here to talk about this important case.

1:19.0

Robert, let's begin with you.

1:21.0

Tell us what is the California law that's being challenged in the case and why does the Institute for Justice believe that it violates the takings clause of the Constitution?

1:31.0

So California law allows union organizers to access

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