Week 8 Discussion Responce

In the case of Commonwealth v. Hunt, it was necessary to dissolve the relationship between criminal conspiracy and the labor movement to make it legal for employee groups to join labor movements. The labor movements would gather to fight for improved working conditions, better wages and shortened working hours. Laborers had the right to demand safer working conditions, wage increases and limit the hours they were required to work daily. Individuals who desired better working conditions were not necessarily criminals or committing criminal acts. They were trying to stand up for their rights and demand better working conditions not criminally conspire against anyone.

The courts identified the relationship between criminal acts and employee’s right to control their work environment. The courts defined a criminal conspiracy as an agreement between two or more persons to commit an unlawful act or to accomplish a lawful end by unlawful means (Criminal Conspiracy, n.d.). Raising wages was not considered an illegal activity or a conspiracy to commit an unlawful act. The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the common-law doctrine of criminal conspiracy did not apply to labor unions (Commonwealth, 2016). The court found that organizing an employer’s policies was good for the community and individuals. That if were used for proper reasons then people would benefit from them. However, if they were not then actionable legal charges could be made against the organized labor groups.

The courts’ analysis, in this case, was correct. Common law – the part of English law that is derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than statutes which are often contrasted with statutory law (Common Law, n.d.). It did not hold true in this case because no conspiracy to commit illegal actions took place. The court ruling held that labor unions were legal if they were organized for a legal purpose and used legal means to achieve their goals.

Christian leaders should be willing to listen to employee concerns about safety, wages, and benefits. Acts 20:35 says. “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (New International Version). Labor unions can be an effective platform for employees to voice their concerns. Prior to the case of Commonwealth v. Hunt, courts would impose harsher penalties and fines to discourage union activity (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015, p. 735). No matter what platform is used, all employees should have the opportunity to voice their concerns.