Hugo Black. Reed argued that the majority had recognized that the sit-down strikers could be punished for their lawless acts, but that the majority refused to punish the employer for engaging in lawless acts which led to an unfair labor practice strike. Congress, Reed said, had given the Board the power to return to the status quo ante, and all workers should be reinstated. Significance Many commentators believe Fansteel outlawed the sit-down strike. It did not; rather, the court held that the NLRB had no authority to force an employer to reinstate workers who engaged in a sit-down strike. The Fansteel Court initially limited discharge to those employees who had violated the law during a strike, but the Supreme Court held in Southern Steamship Co. v. National Labor Relations Board, 316 U.S. 31 (1942), that an employer could discharge an employee for any violation of federal law, whether it occurred during a strike or not. And in NLRB v. Sands Manufacturing Co., 306 U.S. 332 (1939), the Court held that an employer could discipline a striking employee for acts committed away from the job site. The Supreme Court would eventually hold collective work slow-downs, collective refusal to work overtime, and "quickie" strikes equally unlawful. Along with NLRB v. Columbian Enameling & Stamping Co., 306 U.S. 292 (1939) and NLRB v. Sands Manufacturing Co., the decision has been called one of the three most significant NLRB cases since National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, 301 U.S. 1 (1938) upheld the NLRA's constitutionality. The three cases also expanded the way the Court interpreted the NLRA. Although the justices had previously interpreted the Act solely through the lens of the Commerce Clause (showing strong deference to the Board), now the Court evinced a willingness to apply evidentiary standards to the Board's actions and to impose a less radical interpretation on the law. Notes References Brisbin, Richard A. A Strike Like No Other Strike: Law and Resistance During the Pittston Coal Strike of 1989-1990. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002. Craver, Charles B. Can Unions Survive?: The Rejuvenation of the American Labor Movement. New York: New York University Press, 1995. "Fansteel Rejects Terms, Bars Gov. Horner's Proposal of Tacit Recognition of C.I.O. Union." New York Times. February 26, 1937. "Gas Barrage Ousts Fansteel Strikers in a Short Battle." New York Times. February 27, 1937. Gross, James A. The Reshaping