“ We must, of course, defer to the strong presumption-even as to such technical matters as federal jurisdiction-that Congress legislated in accordance with the Constitution. Legislation must, if possible, be given a meaning that will enable it to survive. This rule of constitutional adjudication is normally invoked to narrow what would otherwise be the natural but constitutionally dubious scope of the language. ”

“ Not until an employee enters into an individual contract of hire and performs services does the employer become bound to pay the particular employee the specified wages. It follows, said the Court, that if there was a breach in this case, it was a breach of the employment contracts with the individual employees who were not paid. Section 301, on the other hand, grants jurisdiction to federal courts only over cases involving breaches of the collective bargaining contract between the union and the employer. Therefore, it was concluded, the district court was without jurisdiction of the suit. ”

“ It is not to be found in fear that the employee may not be able to sue. To hold that the union may sue, it is not necessary to hold that the employee may not sue in any forum, and vice versa. At least when the union and the employee are in agreement, there is no reason why either or both should not be permitted to sue. Such is the situation under § 9 (a) of the National Labor Relations Act with respect to the adjustment of grievances without suit. ”

“ And any difference between state and federal theories of enforceability would present opportunities for forum-shopping.
To turn § 301 into an agency for working out a viable theory of the nature of a collective bargaining agreement smacks of unreality. Nor does it seem reasonable to view that section as a delivery into the discretionary hands of the federal judiciary, finally of this Court, of such an important, complicated and subtle field. These difficulties may be illustrated by a discussion of the holding of the Court of Appeals in the present case. ”

“ Respondent is a Pennsylvania corporation engaged in the manufacture and sale of electrical equipment in interstate commerce. Petitioner, an unincorporated labor organization and the collective bargaining representative of some 5,000 salaried employees at two of respondent's plants, filed this suit against respondent in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to enforce collective bargaining agreements then in effect between it and respondent. ”

“ Although it has sometimes been suggested that the 'cause of action' must derive from federal law, [17] it has been found sufficient that some aspect of federal law is essential to plaintiff's success. [18] The litigation-provoking problem has been the degree to which federal law must be in the forefront of the case and not be remote, collateral or peripheral. ”

“ They are not incorporated; they have many members; in some States all the members must be served; it is difficult to know who is to be served. But the pending bill provides they can be sued as if they were corporations and if a judgment is found against the labor organization, even though it is an unincorporated association, the liability is on the labor union and the labor-union funds, and it is not on the individual members of the union, where it has fallen in some famous cases to the great financial distress of the individual members of labor unions.' 93 Cong.Rec. ”

“ When stoppages do occur, they most frequently involve a grievance with respect to one employee or a few employees much smaller in number than those involved in the stoppage. That such stoppages are wildcat and officially unauthorized merely emphasizes the fact of group interest in the incident. It is a matter of industrial history that stoppages of work because of disciplinary penalties against individuals, or because of failure to pay the rates claimed, or because of the promotion or layoff of one employee rather than another, or for similar reasons, have been frequent occurrences. ”

“ This rather casual non sequitur seems to suggest reliance not on the existence or establishment of any substantive federal law governing collective bargaining contracts to create a 'federal question' in the technical sense relevant to jurisdiction of district courts, but on the mere power of Congress to enact such law. [10] While some statements on the Senate floor by opponents of the amendment are ambiguous, [11] all authoritative materials indicate the strictly procedural aim of the section. ”

“ In an effort to avoid these problems, lower federal courts have given discordant answers. Most have ascribed to § 301 the creation of 'substantive federal rights' or the subjection of collective agreements to a body of federal common law. ”